The Breakfast Club Presents : Cut To It Podcast

Smith Senior and Jerald Little John. Cut to It Podcast is here to bring you interviews from your favorite athletes, entertainers, and more. They ask the questions that we all want to know but nobody ever asked. Make sure you listen to cut to It podcast on the Black Effect or wherever you get your podcasts. This is cut to It with Steve Smith, singer at production of The Black Effect and iHeartRadio. I'm Steve Smith Senior and John and this is cut to It. Good ahead, let's get down good.

We asked the questions you always want to know, but no one ever asked. Let's cut to it. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all okay. Alright, me and my wife foolishly decided we're gonna play tennis over the weekend in the just it was hot. It's been sticky. I mean we're in North Carolina. We're in Charlotte for those of y'all who don't know. So it gets humidity. It is painstaking. The I mean it's been it's been hot in North Carolina.

I mean it's been ninety degrees in October November. Right, We've we've had a Thanksgiving where it's been like eighty four degrees, which is and then it feels like ninety seven with all the humidity. Yeah, so it's it's different. So we decided we're gonna play tennis. Right and so where we played tennants, they also have some uh it's

a pool right there. So there was a guy, he's about sixty years old, and again he was by the pool, so he had he was walking from the pool pastor tennis courts to his car to go in to to leave, and he had on he didn't have on a shirt. Okay, so he was again suns out, guns out, but he was sixty years old, so he had it. He had it for sixty year old man or maybe he could have been older. He was pretty fit, and he wanted everybody. He wanted everybody to know, Look, I'm old, but I'm

still handling the business. So I look over and one just you know, I was always taught respect your elder, so I look over. When I said, hey, suns out, guns out? He said yeah. I say hey, but um, you got those guns registered. He looked at me and said, nah, I shot these in a while, bro. He had this clip bloated waiting for you to ask. He wanted to. That's why he didn't have a shirt on, because he was waiting for some money. Yeah, I ain't shot these.

I know what he's saying. I haven't discharged these in years. And what I loved about that's one when I was acknowledging, Hey, I see you working, old, I see you, I see you working young man. It was really cool because when I get sixty or seventy years old, man, I still kind of want a four pack at least, right. The other two is still in the cooler, still in the cooler, right, because obviously when you're sixty and seventy you ain't working

out like he used to. But just just to have a a two patter man, that's progress because there's a lot of thirty year old so walking around with kegs. They ain't got No did he run up on you like he wanted to try you or he just ran He wasn't like that, No, he was. He was strolling by his flip flops in the shorts and his shirt. I was fully dressed in ninety degree weather playing tennis, and people like, really, still you play tennis? Actually I'm

a three to five in tennis. That means there's five old. I mean four or five four old three five three h two five two O two old is you're terrible? Um three to five is you could play a little bit run around. I love the exercise. I'm actually a huge tennis junkie. Love love tennis. Grew up watching Andre Agassi and um, you know on here on cut tool we also eventually have some tennis guys too, brothers talking tennis,

That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, you know, obviously Arthur ashe but there's a lot of different guys here in North Carolina and um, Andy Murray, UM really good friends. He grew up in Greensboro, John Eisner. Um, obviously you got the serenas. That's down the street from the house in La Girls. I remember I had to unique opportunity to visit um James Blake when he was playing. His mom actually well was his trainer and and really kind of kept him in focus. I was pretty good. So

I love tennis. An intense dude. That's that's crazy, man, an intense dude like you savage on the field swinging tennis club while you saying like, no, I'm saying I'm not like you. I'm not judging at all. I'm just saying I find it interesting that you know, if you can to you to keep back felling, you're gonna hit the water cool over there. That's cool. I played a little DV in my life, but I'm just saying I do. Seriously,

I find it interesting that that you play tennis. I's school because I think the for one, I mean, you are a football player, your intense dude, and tennis is such a quote unquote country club sport that um, I really find it interesting and honestly, I find it cool even for me like my daughter who six your niece Mia, Um, she loves swimming and she loves playing golf, two things

that I never threw up around where I'm from. So honestly, what I'm saying is I find it cool that you can invest yourself in the sport that otherwise, you know, places that we're from, you don't typically play. So I honestly, I find it really cool that you know, in your later stages in life, you can find something like that that really keeps you fit, keeps you focused, and keeps

you really you know, keeps you around some sort of competitiveness. Man, let me tell you, in tennis, you want to get ran, play some old folks. They get you the business, give you the business because in tennis, tennis is a mind game, right, and it's ball placement, and a lot of the older people don't have that movement like they used to, but they but they playing from a mental standard and so they So I played the older guy and got my butt wok and he ran me, ran me off the

court because ball placement. I'm over there, I'm running from side to side, baseline, the baseline. That dude was out yeah, out there running for no reason. He was out there like he just cross throwing darts. But I love tennis because it's it's a great It is a great sport in which requires mental for to two strategy. But you could also hit the snot out of the ball and then they can return it same velocity even more, or they can set you up. So it's a lot of

mental aspect of it. It's a lot of I was, but that old man taught me something. I'll running. I'll run them into the ground right now. But you know that ain't gonna happen. But I really love tennis, and so me and my wife play tennis together. My boys, I am doocey Um. We call m Doocy Goosey Steve Smith Junior. I have brainwashed him Um into being a tennis player. He's gonna be tennis. He's gonna become a

tennis player. And then I will be able to live in Italy for a year or two because he'll be he'll be training out there, and so we're gonna be recording from Italy. I like, I don't I don't really care where we record from, but I'm getting the Italy at so far to just be there for a year and let him train um in Italy, and then I can blow up by eating a whole bunch of pizza. There you go, There you go, there you go. So gee, let's cut to it. And who's our guest for today?

Because I don't know who it is. We we talked about some guys and then now I got like a surprise guest that you're supposed to be telling me, and so now I'm just going off to I am literally I have no questions in front of me because you guys didn't tell me. So if this show seems a little bit erratic today, that's only because they surprised me with a guest and I don't know who it is, but I think it's gonna be an awesome guest. All right, coming up, we got a very special surprise guest, an icon,

a legend, Michael Vick. He went to Virginia Tech University. The four time pro bowler, he was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in twenty ten, and he's the NFL's all time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback over six thousand yards. Michael Vick, thanks for coming on to the Cut to a podcast. Brother, Thanks for having me, man, it's just a pleasure to be on. Pleasure to this segment we were about to go into is called get Iced Up with Smitty's basically our ice breakers be prepared

for anything. Smitty. I'll let you take a favorite childhood cereal, Captain Crunch Crunch. It was flavorful, especially when they started throwing the flavors up in man got better years when that's a hood favorite right there, that's a favorite, right berries? Yea berries and they hit the blueberries and the red berries game. It was popular. The summer activity you love

to do, swimming at the Boys and Girls Club. But that was my thing, you know what I mean, that was my thing that swim, swim, swim, and it made me strong, It made me better, um you know, as a as a as a football player, and you know growing up where I grew up because I was stronger than everybody. Nobody liked to swim but me, and it was a passing growing up. So swimming at the Boys and Girls Club, now, I know you had a ton of fast twitch. However, now you retire, so how you

ain't your shoes? You got shoelaces or veil crow? I I got shoelaces to dispect the icon. Let's see, I can't get caught in the bell crow. If you ask me this ten years from now, then you might get a different answer. We can't have big fifty. Yeah, I ain't. Oh, let me trap up real quick. All right, Well, we we really appreciate you coming on. And the purpose, uh of the of our podcast really is to get the insight, um and understand the the man, the woman as well

inside the jersey. We want you to start off before we really get into really who Michael VICKI is just set a stage like where'd you grow up? How'd you grow up? Right? And and and and really how and where you grew up? How did that shape your life? Good and bad and and and so paint that picture for us. We all know, you know, the good and the bad. Yeah, but it but it all started from somewhere and where where is that place? It started in News, Virginia um, a place I can sit at home for

eighteen years until I left Virginia tech um. You know, I moved around to a couple of different neighborhoods from the age of uh, you know, six until I was about ten years old. So I had always had different crews of friends, which which was cool. And until I moved into my last neighborhood, Bridey Circle where I grew up. Where I grew up, you know, from the age of ten to like eighteen and met all my friends who uh you know I got to know and still friends

with guys to this day. But had dreams with and you know, thought about what life would be like with, you know, as as a young man growing into an

older man. You know, we went through everything together. You know, we went through you know, the preteen years and the teen years and you know, to playing football and liking girls, and you know, everybody had their own set of goals and dreams, and you know, it was so you know, it was a tough situation to grow up in because you know, you don't know, you don't have a lot, you know, until you goes around somebody who has a lot. And one of my cousins, his mom and dad was

in the household and they both had good jobs. And you know, I've seen the different side of life, and I'm like, you know, I want that life, you know, even though I don't have what he have. You know, if I can experience that and learn from that experience, you know, it helps shape and mold me to you know, me thinking like, look, I want more than what we have. And uh, you know, I started playing you know football, like the age of seven, and it was like the

coolest game ever. You know, then start out as a quarterback. You know, I was running back at first. That's a different story. But you know, the dreams started right there, and I was like, man, they get paid for this. You know, I'm pretty good at this. You know, I think this is something that I want to do. And you know, fast forward to you know, from the age of ten to eighteen, it was like, man, you got to do so much in order to get a scholarship to go to you know, college, and to play in

the National Football League. So I looked at the journey I had to travel and I was like, man, this is tough. But as a ten year old kid, I was like, I'm prepared for that journey. So, you know, growing up in that environment prepared me for that journey. I think my friends and the guys I grew up with, the guys that really grew up with, um, they helped

me with that journey. And then you know, it was high school, college and then but when you say guys I really grew up with, I say that, Steve, because I really feel like, um, you know, my my two best best friends, my two besties, A guy named Jamal Wilson and Kevin Stanley was the guys that when I when we touched eighteen, we all went out separate ways. They both went in the military and I went on

to college. And then it was the guys that I met, you know, over time, and you know, Kevin wasn't playing football and Jamal wasn't playing football. I got closer with my teammates. Some of those guys good dudes. Some of them was bad dudes, but they all they became my friends. And I hung out with him and you know, he kind of made decisions and choices together, you know, good and bad, and uh, you know, it was what it was.

But those two guys that I just name were, you know, my guys, and to this day, like they still like my beasties. The ones that are gonna tell me, like, na, you're making a bonehead decision or you know, you shouldn't do that. They're not afraid to tell me no, you know, and that that that's been the biggest tale to the sign of why you know those guys are they always been my besties. Man, They're always really bid, you know, So you know, I learned my lesson with friends along

the way. You know, how to determine if your friend is really a friend. You know, Mike, I played against you, Um, long time, good and bad, and we were out we were in the same draft class and um, and you know we're both doing analysts work now. Um, you're doing a fantastic job on Fox, you know, and I'm I'm trying to keep up with you on NFL network. Amazing,

appreciate it. Now, I'm gonna take this time to as something the elephant in the room, because I think it's one journalistic integrity that I'm learning of talking about it. But just steer me in the direction if I say

something that's if I misspeak. But basically, um, around two thousand and six, you know, the FBI and some of that stuff is starting investigation about some of the outside activity that was going on outside of your employment with the Atlanta Falcons, and you were basically convicted or or I believe plead got a plea deal with them on

dog fighting and all of that stuff. And so August twenty seven, two thousand and seventh, you were sentenced and had to serve an eighteen months prison term and also had to do two months of house to arrest you also had to pay back money to the Land of Falcons. I believe a whole bunch of money. Um. None of us got under our under our mattresses. No, but you also, Mike,

Mike Vick is the original highlight reel. Um, myself and many other people feared when you had the ball in your hands when we were standing on the other sideline, I'm like, man, if that they let this dude get loose again, we in trump. I want to ask you when you went to prison then, Michael Duane vic walk

in that prison or was it Michael Victor highlight Reel. Oh, man, that's an amazing question, because Michael Victor Highlight Reel walked into that and into that prison and walked in there and feeling like, damn, this shouldn't this shouldn't be me. I had too much money for this. I shouldn't you know,

I shouldn't be in this situation. You know, at first couple of hours, I was in there every time they came to check on me to make sure that I was good, and I wasn't, and they permitting suicide that you know, I thought somebody was coming out and locked that door to let me out, you know, And I'm like, because I felt like I didn't deserve to be there. And then over time, you know, as the knights went on and the days went was longer, and the days hurt,

they hurt. You know, you're thinking about, you know, the outside world. You think about family and watching football and watching you guys you know, you know, like men of integrity out there doing but they supposed to be doing, because that's what everybody dreampt of doing their entire lives, unless they just fell into it. You know, very very blessed to be out there on the field in that situation.

And I'm you know, one of the you know, Markey players of the league, and I'm sitting in the prison seeing I'm like, damn, this shit beat me. But that's time went on, I realized like, yeah, this was gonna it was supposed to be me. It needed to be me, because I started thinking about, you know, all the people I did, hurt, all the animals I hurt, all of you know things that I did, and the decisions I made that could have been better. And I'm like, you

didn't make the all the right decisions. You know, nobody's perfect, but at the same time, you probably made more bad decisions than you did good. And that's the reason you were in this place right now. So you know I looked at that, you know, understood it. You know I accepted it, and I was like, you know, when I leave out of here, I'm gonna come out of here a different person. I'm gonna come out of here a man and integrity. I'm gonna respect my family and respect

you know the game. I'm gonna respect the people who try to help me in every fast that my life and want the best for me. And I'm not going to ignore that. I'm gonna grow up. I'm not gonna be so reserved and I'm not gonna be so you know, introvertive. I'm gonna try to open up. You know, all those things is on my mind. And I felt like, you know, I did it, but I needed that time so get

to that point in my life. So the highlight, Michael Victor highlight real walkan in prison, Michael, the man came out and I'm very appreciative of that in my life. So what did you discover about about yourself? Really being put in that position twenty three hours a day. Yeah, I feel like, you know, just losing control, you know,

it was probably the biggest thing. And like I have no control of, you know, when I'm gonna eat, I have no control of when I got to go to sleep or you know, I'm pretty much on somebody else's time, you know, um but a lot of idle time. And I'm like, damn, like, you know, I got to find a way to to make this, you know, somewhat, you know, a success story, like man, I got it in me. I know I could do it. I know the decisions that was made that was wrong. Damn, I should have

just did it right. You know. All I started thinking about was a second chance, another opportunity. If I get a chance to do it all again. And I'm gonna do it this way, And I know I'm not gonna be perfect, but at least I know I'm not gonna be around those same people, you know, the same influences. You know, I'm growing up a little bit, and I wanted to show people more than anything that when I

got out, I was more mature. You know. It started with Roger Goodeale than he was the last person I was looking to his face and lied to, you know about being involved. So I was able to start with him break the ice tell the truth. I was wrong. He said, look, I'm not here to talk about the past, me to talk about the future. And right then and then when I heard that, I was just like, Okay,

that's it. That's it. It's all about the future. And Roger Goodell told me that and our initial conversation and that changed my life. That made me look at the world different. It made me know that the vision that I had could come true. Like all the other visions I had, what vision, I don't know. I got a lot of like a lot of stuff in my mind. I was you know, we spent a lot of the time. We spent a lot of time like all my all

the staff, all the people as working with us. We spend a lot of time just kind of looking at all this stuff about about you. And I watch a lot of things myself, and the one thing I kept focusing on it was like, you know, I don't want this to you to come on here and to rehab something um that's happened. However, I don't want people to feel like that we're glancing over or were or we're giving you Yeah yeah, it's all under control, baby. Yeah.

But but also like I also put myself in your position is I've done some stupid stuff in my life. And you know when you do some stupid stuff, you sitting there right, and I say stupid because if I'm being one hunter many like playing against you. Yeah, I know, I know the stories about you. I know, I know get we're gonna get into them stories. I know, but

I'm saying I'm still real deal. I'm saying all this, all this stuff about you, like I watch you and one that all way down, you know, being so close here in Charlotte, in Charlotte, trying to mimic the growth of Atlanta, like we we got the information like we were it was like it was happening here, and bro like sitting here and just putting myself in that position, I'm going all the stupid stuff I've done in my life.

You know how many times I've gotten in trouble And then you wake up and you you wake up with your eyes open and you just kind of that one eye and you go, I hope it's I hope it's not real. Yeah, and then you realize, damn, we're still here.

Like I just I really like I really want you to kind of like just take us through that personal journey of sitting in there because a lot of times there's so many people like I read some of the comments, people like the YouTube stuff that every time you go on there, people are like, he's not he's not remorseful demands for eighteen months in jail. It don't even if he's not remorseful, he's sitting in his in his dirty

right now. Yeah, And I just I personally don't cannot sit there, even visiting men in prison, myself sitting there going they may not the first week or two weeks of the first month, but this brother has seventeen other months to go. Ain't nobody getting them out? He's not getting a free plane of hurt. I cannot explain the hurt from that stuff. Like, man, So this is how much it hurt. It hurt me that it became normal

being in it. It hurt me that it became normal on a Friday night walking in track looking out at the rest of the world, cause going by people going by and saying, damn, it's life that really exists. I then I don't have freedom, you know. And you know, I just felt like from the start when I found out that I was first going to prison, I just kept looking at myself in the mirror like, oh, you're

going to prison. You're going to prison. I know what it's gonna be like, or trying to imagine and you know, like you just trying to wake up from it, like yo, is this really real? And then next thing you're still living in I'm like, damn, like this is this is really happening, you know, and you know, just so it's just so sad, bro like just so um not have control after having control of my entire life and leading away.

You know, I'm driving it. I'm driving the train. I'm starring the train everywhere and every direction I wanted to go, and then I just I stared it off the track. Boom,

and now we just crashed. You over there, you're banning, and it's just like damn, like you know, you got to pick up the pieces, man, I really pick up the pieces and get myself together and like lost everything, lost off, lost everybody, putting, my wife, everything with my wife, you still standing there, standing tall in the end, you know, And even when I was telling her when I came back, like some I'm on a bench right now, I'm the

third quarterback, but I just need a shot. She believed in me, you know, but she believed in me as a man, and I was going to change, you know, and actually know another thing that like that transformation too, Like she's just been a big inspiration in my life. Is just helping the change and look at the world differently, understand things and know that she can be just as you know, reliable and you know, assertive and her friendships you know, as a man as somebody else that I

felt like I needed comfort in. Like I kind of put that you know, on this on her now and we put it on each other and you know, made a stronger maybe stronger to this day. Did you think did you think she'll leave you? Did you think she'll stay you? Oh? Going through that? Um yeah, Steve, because um, you know I was real fouling my day. Man. I was like yo, man, you know, no respect, you know, Um, I had no idea of what it was like to maintain a real relationship and you know, to love somebody

who truly loved you. You know, I was caught up in that whole spotlight, my thick life, you know, the money to fame, you know, I was caught up and all that, you know, and it took for God, that like put me in a vulnerable situation where like she wrote me down while I was like, yo, no, I I changed it all. I'll give it all up, you know, just to have you. You know, So I you know, I thought because of that, because I went through that with her prior that when I left, it's like you

made another bonehead decision. You deal with that to yourself. No, she's there. She's right there when I came home, every step of the way, every phone call. Damn, that's true loyalty, you know. That's why I learned loyalty like it can come from the coming a lot of different ways and

a lot of different people. I respect that. So you you basically twenty almost almost thirty years old, and you're just figuring out what real loyal to is, especially coming from the hood, from the hood where we we think we know a loyalty is just because of you know, when you're in the bottom or you got is your word? Yeah, yeah, also talked to just naturally, we talked to this trust too, right,

So that's that's already ingrained too. So when you have an experience like mine had and you have these people that fail you, it gets stripped away. But man, thank thank god, your wife was able to stay with you through that entire stretch. And it was and it sounds almost as if she was a motivating factor when he

was behind the wall. Yeah, she was the strength. She was the strength I need to that first two weeks and I cried every day, like, see you on the plone, Stoom, be all right, stoom, be all right, you can get you got you, you could do this. I'm like, nah, I don't, I don't. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't. You know. You you out there living, breathing and as you supposed to be, and I'm right here dealing with this crap, you know, and I'm blaming everybody.

Now I'm pointing finger and this person. And now I'm just I'm upset, you know, I'm mad. You know that that that that kid to keep unlocking that door. Ain't let me out, you know. So I'm like, yeah, I'm stuck. You know, I'm in the box right now, you know. But she was just always encouraging me and you know, making me laughing. You know, we talked for hours. I ran that bill up crazy and then I had like

an eight thousand dollars bill. When I left, I was only there for like I was on with the initial prison. I went to just as a holding facility when they was just holding me. Um. I stayed there for about maybe like forty five days. So yeah, I left for like an eight thousand dollars phone bill because all and and the way the phone was set up was that you could just call back right after talking fifteen minutes and you got a call back. You can call back

and talk. I was just keep on the phone all day, all day, and that's you know, that was that bridge the gap and helped me get through that little part and to uh they took me to leven Worth. So and I was really leaving when I went to eleven Worth, man, I was. I was at a prison camp. So I wasn't like behind no serious wall, even though when I first pulled up, they pulled me up in front of the leaven Worth Prison, the real prison, and I was like, oh god, they they got me this time, you know,

and the guy was like, you know, e's up. You know you ain't going over there, You're going over here, and you know, but you know, it still was you know, it was it was a facility where it was like you couldn't leave it, you know, you couldn't you couldn't leave it. And uh so, man, it was just uh you know, being in Kansas and being away from my family, losing that connection, you know, that was tough. Man. And then I had I had three young kids too. I had my oldest son and then my two daughters and

my youngest daughter who was twelve nine. Name is London. She was just born in a month old when I myself, and so that was a part of it, her to a big part of her. Would you would have made it if your wife wasn't there to talk to you every day? No, Honestly, that's another good question because that's something that I never been asked or I had a

conversation with people where it came out. I'm gonna know, I don't think I would have made it if my wife would have left me, because basically I would have had nobody and I was not gonna just let any random person come and sit and talk to me about compunching nothing. Um. I felt like the only person that I could talk to at the time was her. I thank god she listened because she used to come visit and we'll spend three days in the visiting room. You

only get twenty four hours in a month total. You know, we'll spend eight hours a day, three days in a row and just burn it off and sit there and just talk and we will argue and fight and laugh and joke and crying and kiss each other. And you know, I need I needed that strength when I knew she was coming to visit. You know, the weakness she made the time to go by faster. I say that, and uh, And there was nothing physical. It was all mental and

emotional and I respected that part. It was really cool experience, man, and just dealing with that now. You know, like we're like inseparable. We have to take a break and morning a thing. We gotta pay some bills. You got checks. I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie where where at? That's at cut to It on Instagram? What about Twitter? At cut to It Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve

Smith Singer, what about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for. A brother, cut to a podcast dot com. I'll talk to you, bro, and played against you prior to you get going incarceration, and I've listened to you speak and talked to you outside of after incarceration. Bro.

If you're the winning incarceration about three years into your career, Bro, you still be playing right now. Wow. I know just the way he sees the game, the way the way he speaks, the way he carries himself. Like I met Vic and the whole we've met each other. We were drafted the same class we took. It's funny I knew I was. I knew that I felt like I was respected coming out of draft class because they put you in categories in the combine and then the combine I was.

It was funny me, Vic and Quincy while all at that long table and there was our rotation for our drug test, and we also took the wonder Lick in there.

And let me tell you something, taking a wonder lick with some dudes that know they're gonna make it, but also some dudes who didn't really pay attention to school as well, we were all looking at the look tests like, I hope you got the answers because oh I got it right, and so I was class and I believe one of the best draft class because you got Drew Brees and that drafts Michael Vick, that Tana Moss, Reggie

Wayne the day time. I mean, just Michael Vick's It's unbelievable, even down to the other guys in that draft class, right, Damn Morgan, Right, there's so many guys man. Yeah, yeah, I remember watching you broadness, like seeing you to day, hearing you today, like it's just just remarkable that what you went through for most people would hurt them. You grow you grow up just like me. We grew up in in in what society would call us at risk youth, being an at risk youth, you grew up not relying

on anybody, not depending on and not trusting anybody. However, in the midst of all your trouble and all your you know, using your word, the findness that with the way you conducted yourself in your relationship with your with your better half, right, it sounds like that you actually learned how to really connect and have a transparent and real relational relationship with your your wife at the first time, non physical and almost a true courtship. Yep. I learned

to communicate with her. I learned to talk to her. I learned to get feelings out of her that that I needed, you know, that I needed it and she needed and um, you know, I really wish I had my dad in my life, you know, growing up, like, because I felt like he would have taught me a lot of things in terms of relationships. You know, he was there, but I didn't see you know, you learned by example, So I didn't see him being affects me.

I just didn't see him talking to my mom and sitting her down or you know, argument and having you know, maybe a serious argument, but then you know, you know, it all boils over and then they back to you know, the back to the normal that normalselves. I didn't see that. I seen it in the different lands. It was a little rougher, you know, it was more you know, it was you know, it was only abusive side, don't keep

it real, you know. So I was like, you know, I had no real concept of what you know, relationship was supposed to be. Like, so I think you know this in that the time period. She kind of helped me to, you know, learn like what a relationship was supposed to look like in the best part about it, like you just said it was it was non physical and then that So I think that helped, you know, help the both of us in a sense. I know every situation is different. So what was the reinstatement process

for you? Like, because we hear like reinstatement, you hear, you know, you hear guys are frustrated with my reinstatement. What's the deal? You know, as if as if the NFL or the institution suspending them because they didn't like their outfit that day, right, you know, I want to know,

really what is the what is the process? Like give us detail of you know, not to get anybody in trouble, just kind of paint the paint the picture, because I mean, I've been suspended and I had to do the evaluation process. You know, I punched you guys, so I had to go. They flew me. Actually I think they drove me, Jake Drewman flow. I don't know which time though. Anyway, they drew one time they drove the other time we flew

and I had to do evaluation with a counselor. And that evaluation stunk because I was fresh off that I don't care about yeah, right, I felt justified in my actions, and so I had the evaluation. It was literally a ten hour process, right and so, and it basically came back and I was like I was sitting in the whole evaluation body language. I was slouched down, hat to the side, like, look, I'm just gonna do my time going through the motions, you know, but your your step

was a lot more tedious. It required a lot more energy and a lot more meetings because everybody does that. You gotta slap on the wrist and you just moved on with your life. What we know is not true because most most of the places you've been on really don't want to want to really know what you intail. They want to know why did you do that? What were you thinking? But we want to know the process. Man. I don't want to know why that shirt look good on Mike Vic, you know, I want to know what

goes what goes through through the whole process. I'm trying to look like a handsome, my skin brother like myself, No doubt, I gotta give you that. I gotta give you that, bro. Let me tell it. Let me tell you man. It was. It was. It was rigorous. It was tough process because, first of all, when when I was on pre track, right before I went to turn myself in to go to go to prison, my wife and one of my friends told me, like, you know, don't you know, don't don't smoke. I'm like, well, I'm

stressed out and I need to. I need to smoke, you know, Uh, I need to smoke marijuana. I need to. This is what I need to do. They like, no, don't do it, like you know, I'm not gonna get tested. Boom, I get tested. Now I'm in the drug program with the League. It strength is up, my probation like everything

just like got snapped down on me. And so my process was tougher because I was in the in the drug program and now I'm getting all these questions of uh, you know, why did I, you know, smoke marijuana before I before I even went into prison, and knowing that I was suspended from the League, So I put myself in a vulnerable situation. So my process really started. It started with Roger Um being Roger Met and you know, I told you he was like, look, we're not here

to talk about the past. You here to talk about the future. And then we had we had conversations and he was like, well, you know, I'm gonna send you over to another group to meet where. And it was like a group of like ten people in the room with myself and they they grilled me. They asked me questions from A to Z about my friends, about family, you know, about money, about the dog fighting, the truthfulness and a lot of things that had to come out, you know that that you know, it was the one

sided with the media. Um. But and I hadn't had a chance to sit down and talk with everybody. So I my evaluation process was what type of help did you really need? And it was you know, I think that figured out, like, Yo, you're really not you know, a psychopathic person. You really are not crazy. You know, Um,

you know what happened to you. You know, you could have made better judgment, it could have made better decisions that we think you acknowledge that it and we see your your empathy behind what you're saying you're gonna do, and you know, we feel like you really care, you know. So that was a that was funny like a two month process. Um. And and also it was a plan and not have me, you know, start as a you know, be a starter when I came back to the league.

I couldn't see it that way, but I think just behind it was, you know, we don't know what type of reception you're really gonna get, you know, so it was a lot of like we're ready to risk it off for you. Um. We we love your respect you as as a man and as a football player, and we don't give you a shot and see how I go. And that's all I wanted. So you know, it was designed for me not to be a start. I think I landed in Philly. It was a blessing. I landed

in Philadelphia. And yeah, so so that was it. So it all happened within like, uh maybe like a six month time space because Tony Dungee came to visit me in prison. He helped start the process, um and then help you know to just see me talk to me. UM. A couple of representatives from Atlanta Falcons came out to Blank,

came out, um spoke to Andy Reid on one occasion. UM. So so yeah, I was just kind of like going through you know, just that normal you know what it takes to get reinstated process and I've never been through it before, but you know, just what I did before made it harder and then uh I thank god Roger made it easy. At the end, I was I became a free agent. Uh you know at plus I think of thirteen years and man, when I was going for heading up the free agency bro it was like and um,

ten teams interested in me. Yeah. When I finally hit free a se and the Panthers release me, man, it went to like foll teams. Yeah yeah, and I was really it was really different to be a free agent for myself, it was a it was an outpum. I was older, so you know, I didn't have as many teams. I'm wondering what the you know, what was the free agency process for you? And then how did you come

to the conclusion that Philly was the team? Well, Philly was the only choice, like and it was like, they didn't make me go to Philly, but they it was like set up to you know, go learn from Donavan. My agent thought it was Joe Seguer. At the time, I thought it was a great idea to go sit behind Donovan. They already head Kevin Cordon can kind of work yourself back into shape. But I'm like, yo, nah, it's Buffalo needs a quarterback. I think they head that

was at the time. And then uh, I think Cousin Palmer just part of ways with Cincinnati or they needed to back up. He was there for like his last season and they needed it. But I was just looking at those situations like those are possible opportunities for me to come back and start and get myself back in shape and come back and show the league. But you know, I'm back and I'm ready. And you know what I realized my first practice in Philadelphia. Before I talked about

how I got signed there, I won't ready. My legs the shot. My body wasn't in shape. You know, they took the weights when I was in when I was in prison, so I couldn't work out. So you know, when I went through that process, it was like Philadelphia wants you, and then get it work for Andy Reid. You know, you get the book behind Donovan. You don't have to start. You can just take a year and

get yourself together. And then it started to make sense to me when it was being explained to me, especially by my agent, and you know, he's like, you just don't want to go up and go out there and then look like you know nothing. And then you know you're getting booed by the fans and they protesting, and you know, you turn the city upside down just like that, you know, kind of work yourself back into it. And I thought that was the right way to go about

it as I thought about it. And you know, like I said, I wanted to be sure about my decision making in that process, and you know, didn't want to disrespect Andy Read at all. I thought he was a great coach from a far any way, working with Donovan, and I felt like it was a year that I can just go learn play there for a year or be there, learn as much as I can do my job,

and then hopefully go somewhere the next year. In free agency, you lost so much control, yeah, you know, in your carceration, and now all of a sudden you have a little bit of opportunity and now you you you back trying to control everything, trying to remove God from his plan. And and and as this song goes, uh, instead of taking a wheel, you instead of letting the Lord take the wheel. You want to take the wheel back. I wanted the will I wanted I wanted the ball in

my hands, you know. And think about it, it it had they had nothing to do with football, Like my I wasn't playing bad football, you know before I left. Oh, I know, I remember, you wasn't playing bad ball at all. I'm playing bad ball at all. So I'm like, I gotta get back and back. What was it? It was no football to prove, now that I think about it, it was no football to prove. And it's it's the

shame that it. It took this conversation, you know, eleven twelve years later to realize the football wasn't the issue. You know, It was the issue of you know, what I was returning from and how people felt about it realistically, you know, and and and that's that's what it was,

you know. That was that was the fight. And now I see how you know, um, you know, it was navigated to to to make it a storybook in it, so job well done to Andy and Roger and Asian Joel, you know, and and all those guys you know who played a major part in it. You know, Um, Tony Dungee, you know, it was all static. And you know, when my guys get together even get some good good result

is usually so thank God for that. Hey, Mike, you you were going to get into the free agency story with with get going to the Eagles, but talk a little bit, or would you tell us the relationship you have with Donovan McNabb. I know you talked about how he had an influence with you and and you know all that stuff, but you were getting recruited by Syracuse. He was already there. Yeah, yeah, Donovan was my idol. Man. Donovan made me believe that I could I could play

college football, um and play my style of football. Like when I was saying my senior year, I think he was in his junior year. And you know I watched him my freshman sophomore year, like its freshman sophomore year, Syracuston. I'm like, yo, man, this dude is a baller. Like he looked like me when I'm in the backyard with my boys, Like he looked like me, or I looked

like him. And I'm like, man, you know what I'm watching close to see if he go to the NFL and see if the league draft him because they don't take quarterbacks like that, and I think he I know he can be good if he if you know, if the team believed, or if he got a shot. You know, I'm just looking at him from a talent perspective. So

he was like my idol. And then my senior year, I took a visit to Syracuse and spend some time with him down there, and he came persuade me to come to Syracuse because I just didn't want to follow somebody else's legacy. I wanted to create my own. But I still you know, when I went to Tech, I admired him from Afar. I've seen it. He got drafted. He gave me hope, and I'm like, man, this dude the man. You know. So the first three or four years he in the NFC championship games multiple times, and

I'm like, man, that's that's style worked. So he just I just continued to stay a fan of his. And you know, once I played two years of college law and got to the league, Donald was one of the first people I called to help me make a decision on if I was ready to come to the NFL, and he told me to look mad if he feel like it's nothing else to prove then then then you

got to make that jump. So he just influenced and that, and then you know, I always was a fan of his, and even when we had to play against each other and go ahead the head, it was like fun, you know, and that you know the times, you know, he's the reason I didn't go to the super Bowl, you know, a couple of years, you know, so you know, he wouldn't let he wouldn't let little bro get one off. He wouldn't let me get the win. But it was cool.

And when I went to Philly, it was like, man, I'm anna stepping in the locker room with you know, not only a friend, but really somebody that I idolized growing up. So I get to watch him work and see why he went to NFC championship games and played in the super Bowl, and maybe the next time around for me, I can take a little bit of that with me. So I relationship, uh was was real, real, real unique, and uh you know, Don was a great dude. Man.

He had kept me laughing every day and I just some days I just don't believe I was in the locker room with him. It was that real. I think it's about that time. Just take a little breather, get down, Hey your art? Why did you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, after

everything's going on, you get picked up by Philly. Did you have to have precautionary things put in place? Uh? If so, were you know where you Was it voluntary on your part or was it wasn't required? I was on probation. Yeah, I had a curfew. I had a curfew. I was a grown man with a kirkfew. You know, I had to be in the house. But like ten bullcraft happened one day one day and then you know,

well not me but people around me. And then that kirkfew winded when like strive o'clock and I couldn't leave Philadelphia one time. Stories untold, but you know, um, you know, just just still was kind of like you know, straddling defense a little bit. Now. I was doing what I needed to do, but still like some of the wrong people was just showing up at inconvenient times and little things just happening. That was just I had nothing to

do with it. Nothing note out of my control. It's just like it was like, well, what are you doing around this person? Now I wasn't around him. He came around me, you know. So a couple of those little issues which led to, you know, a lot of restrictions when and I was on probas Soon you know, I saw obviously sending a probation officer and the council like two to three times in a week like it was. It was it was mind bogging, like they you know, I had a councilor that came every weekend. I couldn't

dodge him because that was mandated by the NFL, you know. Um, but he helped me out. That man was there for me, like that season I started twenty ten like he was. He became my best friend, still one of my great friends to this day. Man. And um, you know, I got so much respect for him. Man, I got some respectful and we still talk about the world and what's

going on in social justice. Now. You know, he's he's he's a white man, you know, he's and he's like sixty sixty eight years old, but his perspective on life is amazing, and you know, I almost kind of look at him as as a father's figure. So that was one great thing that came out of that hole situation. It was a lot more. But you know, I met a guy who, um, I could say to this day care about Mike vick Mann. You know, I don't care

about football week. Our conversations extended so far outside of football that you know, it became real personal and uh, you know, so yeah, you know, not a restrictions band. But I've worked my way through it. I navigated Well, you just heard part one of Michael vick Steve. When the VIC story broke and all this came out and became public, what was the reaction from you and players around the league? No, you didn't believe it, No, no way,

like nah, he couldn't been doing this. And as as things kind of kept unraveling, you start to see that that was there was a true rabbit hole that they were in all the different stories, and it was it was unraveling at a rate that was so rapid it was hard to really process is it, is it true or not? And but here's one thing we all know. I don't care where you grew up. I don't care what you're in or not into. When the FBI come knocking on the door, and I'd ask, they ain't doing

a wellness checking right they already having. It's really is how big of all, how deeper of a hole are you gonna dig yourself in? It shocked all of us, and it shocked is. Even more is the time that he received and what he had to do and what he went through. It was really a real and he lived here in Charlotte. We were getting a lot of information because it ain't none but three hours away. So as they say, the streets were talking. There was a

lot of stories out there that good battering different. I don't really don't. I didn't really listen to them because hell, the same stories you could say about a ton of different people. Right, Being a football player it's no different, or being an athlete, celebrities, entertainers, no different than anybody else's life. The only the only difference is you get to see our lives on fold in front of a camera.

The question is if we followed you around with a camera twenty five hours a day, what will we find? And people forget that you know so so before you get your before you get your threes smooth stones, you know, get them skeletons at your So that was really cool. I hope you enjoy it, but also no, there's two parts, Part two coming up. Yes, and there's even it's even more so I love it. Cut to It with Steve

Smith Senior. That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Balto Creative Media, The Black Effect, and iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singor co host Gerard little John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, social media

manager Peyton Smith. From Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltachevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production manager Sarah Pollock, Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You had them out and then we're about to let you know. It's all m