VIDEO: Michael Vick Previews Dogfighting Scandal Memoir On 'Today'

We often learn more about a man not so much by how he falls, but how he rises. Even some three years after his release from prison, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick believes there's more yet to say about his climb since then.

Vick appeared on Wednesday's "Today" to tell NBC host Matt Lauer about his forthcoming memoir Finally Free, his chronicle of his introduction to illegal dog-fighting through his arrest and prison term, up to his ongoing path to redeem himself.

It was Vick's cousin's suspected drug-related dealings that led to the 2007 discovery of Vick's part in running a dog-fighting operation from his Virginia home. The then-Atlanta Falcons franchise quarterback then went from a million NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, to a guilty plea to violating federal laws regulating transport of dogs across state lines and receiving a 23-month prison sentence. The NFL suspended Vick indefinitely. In 2008, he declared bankruptcy.

Since his reinstatement, he became the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback in 2010 and has actively spoken out on behalf of the Humane Society against dog-fighting and cruelty to animals.

"I was very naive to the consequences, and that's what I don't want to happen to young kids today . . . I became an advocate to try and bring awareness to dog-fighting to help young kids realize that that's not what is important and it's not the path that they should take," Vick told Lauer.

For more, watch the complete interview below.

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