Eagles QB Michael Vick brings anti-dogfighting message to his old middle school in Va.

Eagles QB Vick speaks at his old middle school

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Michael Vick tells students at his old middle school in Virginia that they should avoid the kind of bad decisions that landed him in federal prison for dogfighting.

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback spoke Monday to about 400 students at Huntington Middle School in Newport News. The event was closed and Vick did not speak to reporters outside.

Vick has been speaking to school and community groups to aid the Humane Society of the United States. Society spokesman Dale Bartlett says Vick acknowledged his wrongdoing and told students he believed he could get away with it because he was wealthy.

Vick was released in July after serving 20 months of a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring.

He’ll have another homecoming this weekend when the Eagles visit his old team, the Atlanta Falcons.