The Madden NFL 2012 Cover Dilemma

Later today, on the ESPN2 show SportsNation, the hosts will announce which player is to be on the cover of this years Madden video game. That player is going to be Michael Vick. He has been running away with the tournament-style fan voting that started last month. PETA asked EA, the producers of the game, to remove Vick as a candidate. EA refused. Their director of player relations, Sandy Sandoval, said in an interview with ESPN, "It's a video game, a football game. We're not trying to make any political statements." Sandoval added that EA is sensitive to the issues raised.

If one thinks that Michael Vick should not be allowed to be on the cover of the Madden video game, then they must also think he should be banned from the National Football League as a player, on grounds that he is not fit to be employed by or be a representative of the league at any level because of his criminal history. However, any free male citizen of the United States is allowed to join a professional football team.

There is an overwhelming opinion in our society that rehabilitation through the prison system is an impossibility. There is also the general feeling that if someone is on your television then they are actually in your living room with you. The problem - at this point - with the anti-Vick position, is that the other option is remarkable in only one way: he's a white running back. Vick was the runner-up for the MVP award last year (voted by 50 of the best sports-journalists and broadcasters for the Associated Press) and received 1.5 million pro-bowl votes, Hillis had the 11th most rushing yards in the NFL, 3rd in his division.

Now, what do these players really represent?

Madden Cover Jinx?

In an interesting push for some publicity this year, video game giant EA has left the decision of who is going to be on the cover of their immensely popular Madden NFL football franchise up to the fans vote. The cover of Madden is seen as a great honor among the football community (only one person gets it per year), and it usually goes to a member of the Super Bowl winning team or the MVP of the last year. This year, EA made a tournament style bracket of players from every team and they had the fans vote on who they want to be on the cover. I am sure that EA thought that the fans would simply vote Super Bowl winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who they would have picked anyway, and they could generate some much needed buzz for their game with the impending NFL lockout. However that is not the way that this bracket played out at all. The two finalists are Michael Vick and Peyton Hillis and I am sure that is not who EA expected to come out on top. Vick has actually appeared on EA’s 2004 edition of the game already, but since then his life has changed drastically with his felony conviction and prison stint. Don’t worry if you have never heard of Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis, as most non-hardcore football fans also have not. It will be very interesting to see how EA deals with these two challenges. I am not sure the majority of America has forgiven Vick for what transpired a few years ago with his involvement in an illegal dogfighting ring, and I guarantee that there will be protests and boycotts from various groups of people if he appears on the cover, which will affect sales. I also can pretty much guarantee that the majority of America has not heard of or seen Peyton Hillis, and the fact that he lacks that star power will affect sales as well. In any case, I don’t think that EA will be doing this contest again next year.