Getting out of the doghouse: The image repair strategies of Michael Vick

•Michael Vick ultimately succeeded in repairing his image, starting with his apology in 2007.•Vick chose the appropriate strategies of mortification and corrective action, but he did not fully develop the corrective action strategy.•The paper explores Vick's strategic use of the third person and appeals to a supernatural being and the theoretical implications of these choices.

Michael Vick's federal dog-fighting conviction in 2007 made him notorious. Vick spoke publicly about his role in the dog-fighting operation only once before beginning a prison term. Three years after entering prison, he returned to National Football League action. By 2011, some in the media proposed that Vick had successfully rehabilitated his image and redeemed himself in the eyes of the public. This study examines the image repair strategies Vick employed at his August 27, 2007, press conference. It concludes that Vick chose appropriate strategies but did not fully develop one critical strategy: corrective action. The paper also explores Vick's strategic use of the third person and appeals to a supernatural being.