RICHMOND, Va. — As Michael Vick prepares to leave a federal penitentiary this week one of his top priorities is to show he is genuinely sorry for actions that landed him in prison.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback is nearly finished paying his criminal debt to society and now faces the task of rebuilding his public image after lying about financing a dogfighting ring and for participating in the executions of poorly performing pit bulls.
His challenge: To show — through word and deed — his apology is sincere and doesn’t come off as calculated and self-serving.
Vick has already apologized in court, but more aggressive steps toward atonement can begin after his transfer to home confinement Thursday.
His return to the NFL depends on how he does.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last month that Vick must show true remorse, that he has learned from his mistakes and is prepared to live a different life. Only then will the commissioner consider lifting Vick’s indefinite suspension.
Vick, who initially lied to Goodell and others about his involvement in dogfighting, has already apologized in court, will serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence at his house in Hampton, where he will be closely monitored by court officials. His time in federal custody ends July 20.
The breadth and timing of the reconciliation depends largely on how Vick conducts himself after his release, said Everett Worthington, psychology professor and forgiveness expert at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“There is a lot more to restoring public trust than just serving your time,” Worthington said. “I’m not sure offenders think that way, but things are rarely made right by just doing the minimum.”
Worthington said some people will never forgive Vick no matter what he says or does. But he said there are some things Vick can do to win over most fans and Goodell: set up foundations to benefit animals or disadvantaged youths, for example.
The tricky part is to avoid the appearance of a cynical PR campaign.
“He has to come across as contrite, really concerned about the damage he’s done and wanting to restore integrity to the sport,” Worthington said. “If he doesn’t, he’s kind of sunk.”
Even experts have no surefire formula just how Vick is supposed to do that.
“How do you gauge somebody’s real sincerity? You can’t get in somebody’s head,” said sports psychologist Richard Lustberg of New York.
He said that even if Vick’s attempts to repair his image come across as somewhat orchestrated, that shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing. “I don’t know anyone walking around who wants to look bad,” Lustberg said.
But to Karen Pierce, the issue is not complicated.
“He needs to relax, speak from the heart and be himself,” said Pierce, who serves on the board of a foundation Vick established in 2006 to help disadvantaged teenagers in Atlanta and his hometown of Newport News. “I know the real Michael Vick, and he can come out of this. He can win some fans back. He’s got to let people see him for who he is.”
Pierce, who was Vick’s seventh-grade English teacher, said they have kept in touch by mail and that Vick has told her one of his first goals after his release is to get the foundation up and running again. The foundation operated an after-school program for at-risk youths at a middle school before Vick’s arrest, Pierce said.
She said the foundation was just one example of Vick’s history of good deeds, most of which have gone unnoticed — buying uniforms or Gatorade for financially strapped youth football teams, for example.
“He has never looked for recognition,” Pierce said. “Sometimes I would tell him, ’Mike, you need to let us know about these things so we can put out a press release.’ He was always adamant: No.”
Perhaps the toughest people to win over will be the animal rights activists who were outraged by the brutality displayed by Vick’s “Bad Newz Kennels” dogfighting ring. Vick and his associates admitted that some dogs that fared poorly in test fights were killed by drowning, hanging, electrocution or being slammed to the ground.
“People are horrified by what went on down there in Surry County,” said John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States. “I would think seeing a long-term commitment to ending dogfighting would go a long way to reassuring people that he’s trying to do the right thing.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals opposes Vick’s reinstatement to the NFL unless he submits to a brain scan and psychological evaluation that proves he’s capable of true remorse, spokesman Dan Shannon said.
“He will come out and say he’s sorry but we need to know if we can take that seriously or not,” he said.
Pierce said Vick has apologized directly to her, and she has no doubts about his sincerity.
“He’s reiterated how sorry he is, how much time he’s had to think and how he looks forward to playing football again and re-establishing the foundation,” she said. “He told me, ’We’ve got to get out there and help these kids.”’
That’s the sort of thing Goodell has made clear he needs to hear, and it needs to be heartfelt.
“Michael did an egregious thing,” Goodell said last month. “He has paid a very significant price for that. If he’s learned from that and is prepared to live a different life, I think the general public is forgiving on that when people are genuine and they show remorse and are prepared to live a different life. That’s something he has to prove to myself and the general public.”