Q: Can you tell us how the four of you guys were selected to face the media and talk about your embattled quarterback?
Alge Crumpler
A: “Mike and I came in the same time so I think I’m a relevant source (and) one of the leaders of this team. So I feel it’s necessary for myself to come up and talk on the matter.”
Q: What is reaction to (the news) that came out yesterday?
Alge Crumpler
A: “You know a lot of us, myself, anticipated a lot of things that could happen. It’s all about the focus that our team has. I’ve been proud of the way our team has focused and I’m saddened for Mike, his family and this whole situation. This is a very tough ordeal for himself; it’s a tough ordeal for me considering the close relationship that Michael and I have.”
Q: A lot of us have heard Mike really didn’t hang out with the guys on the team. How much truth is there to that and do you think maybe that’s why there was so much surprise when this initial investigation began?
Alge Crumpler
A: “Well I think Michael is loyal to a fault. I think that really hurt him in this situation. Obviously the facts are going to come out. But it’s a tough ordeal.”
Q: Did you ever have talks prior to this when he was making headlines for other things? Did you ever sit down with him and say, ‘Dude, things really aren’t going down the right path?’
Alge Crumpler
A: “We talked all the time. It’s tough because I remember vividly during the incident where he flipped off the fans and I was very upset on the sidelines then, at the two-minute warning, he calmed me down. Then two minutes later in the game that incident happens and then it’s been a tough ordeal from there.
“I think Michael’s been in a situation where he’s used to winning and, when it happened to be where we started losing and it got kind of frustrating for him, it was an uneasy circumstance for him. I mean, right now, he’s not going to let this thing drag on. He stood up as a man and is going to accept responsibility.
“It puts our team at a loss. I don’t know how much we were really expecting to have him back this year but, right now, I hurt for him and his family."
Q: Have you reached out to Mike or plan to in the future and how’s that going?
Wayne Gandy
A: “I’ve sent him text messages. It’s kind of hard because you don’t really know what to say. You don’t want to keep bringing up the bad and I think, if you keep calling him, he keeps getting the feeling like somebody somewhere is crying for him. I think he’s a man and he understands what’s ahead of him as far as his role in what he did. He only knows the truth and it’s just for us to be here to support him.”
Alge Crumpler
A: “I send him a positive note about every day just to try to make sure he’s keeping his head up. Mike is very human and I think that this whole ordeal has kind of dehumanized him for the last couple of months. He is hurting; I do know that as a fact. He’s hurting. He’ll have to get through this. Who knows what the future is going to hold? But I, myself, am not going to judge the man.”
Q: How did (the plea) change your perception of Mike and the situation?
Wayne Gandy
A: “I feel the same I did when it first came out. I think that Michael is probably just trying to get this out of the way and get this through in his life. He probably felt like the other option was not in favor for his life. He could drag on another year just trying to get around to a judgment and then you have to face those consequences.
“To tell you the truth, being probably the oldest person on this team, your heart just really goes out to Mike. Everybody sees this as this awful thing, which it is from the dog fighting and all that kind of stuff, but there is still a human being behind this. This man is young and he’s out there by himself. I think right now, if anything, just like getting older you start realize how much football really plays a part in your life and I know he’s missing that part. Because this is his safe haven. When everybody else is on him, he can come here. Now he doesn’t have that, either. This is his first time getting in trouble – as far as the law – and I think the next couple months are going to be real tough on him."
Q: How hard is it to fathom this guy you know so well and played with has done something that is probably going to require him to spend a considerable amount of time in prison?
Alge Crumpler
A: “It’s very real. I try to block out a lot of the negative in what’s going on and try to let the due process play itself out. Each and every day you read things and you see things while you’re at home and it affects you. As a person and as a teammate I try to make sure when I walk through these doors that I’m focused on the task at hand. Our team definitely has to deal with it and we’re going to deal with it.
“I can’t say what our future record is going to be. To me that doesn’t matter. What matters is we come in, do what we’re coached to do, we play hard and we build upon this process. It’s not going to be an easy process; it has not been an easy process for myself. It’s not an easy process for my teammates. There is no blueprint for this. This is, by far, is one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to witness personally, read about and have it affect me and my teammates on a daily basis.”
Q: So much of the identity of this team has been tied up in Michael Vick. What would you say the identity of this team is now?
Alge Crumpler
A: “The identity right now is going to be the core of our team trying to hold this thing together. Bobby Petrino is, by far, one of the most focused coaches I’ve ever been around. He is very straight forward, very all about football. We’re trying to buy into that. He’s only been around Michael just for a couple of months and I know he was excited about having an opportunity to work with him. You know, Mike was one, I was two. I’ve been here since day one. So, obviously this affects me a lot more than some of these other guys.
“What I’ve told our rookies: ‘You’ve had a dream of making it to the National Football League your whole life. Don’t let this situation hamper that opportunity that you have to come out here and shine in front of our fans.
“I’m excited to see what type of fan base we’re going to have because I know how divided our fan base has been over the years in support of Michael and maybe not in support of some of the things that’s gone on, but we have to move forward and we’re going to move forward. Time will tell how this whole process is going to play out for our team as it has been effected by this situation.”
Q: Warrick Dunn referred to him as an “ex-teammate.” Are you guys daily, now, coming to grips with the fact that you may never see him in a Falcons uniform again?
Alge Crumpler
A: “I don’t know what the future holds in terms of Michael’s life off the football field after whatever the sentence may be. He’s 27 years old. He’s got a lot of life to live. He’s going to learn a lot through this whole ordeal. I’ll just do what I can to try to help him through this whole deal regardless of how sickening these allegations are. It’s tough. To me, he’s like a family member. It’s a very tough ordeal to go through."
