Friday column: Getting to the heart of things isn't easy

Roger Goodell wants to search the heart of Michael Vick.

I wish him luck.

In discussing the former Atlanta quarterback’s chances of being reinstated to the NFL, the commissioner said, “I think it’s clear he’s paid a price, but to a large extent he’s going to have to demonstrate … that he has remorse for what he did and that he recognizes mistakes that he made.”

Vick has apologized, but Goodell is looking for more than words; he’s looking for something that indicates true repentance, not just regret for getting caught.

But how does one judge a person’s heart, especially when there’s incentive — in Vick’s case, millions of dollars from a resumed NFL career — to feign contrition?

Candor was the question facing Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats and his wife this week when Officer Robert Powell apologized for turning a traffic stop into a scene from RoboCop.

Powell acted like a jerk after pulling over Moats for running a red light as Moats and his wife tried to get to a hospital to see her mother in the final minutes of her life. Powell not only was not sympathetic, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Tamishia Moats when she kept walking toward the hospital and her dying mother.

It’s worth noting that Powell’s apology came through his lawyers, and that it’s not the first time the officer has been accused of over-reacting, leaving him on thin ice with the Dallas Police Department.

Despite that, on Monday the couple accepted the apology. Ryan Moats did add, however, “I hope it’s sincere.”

Ah, there’s that heart thing again.

If motive for proffered remorse is suspect for a man trying to reclaim a fortune or a man trying to keep his job, how about for a man facing a life sentence for torture and murder?

Tuesday, Kaing Guek Eav — better known as Duch — former commandant of a Khmer Rouge torture house, apologized in a Cambodia courtroom, saying, “I would like to express my heartfelt sorrow.”

Prosecutors were unimpressed, noting that Duch’s contrition didn’t come until many years later. The time lag, of course, doesn’t preclude the sorrow from being genuine. But who knows?

I will say this: Duch struck the right chord when he said, “My current plea is that I would like you to please leave an open window for me to seek forgiveness.”

Powell resigned Wednesday, which doesn’t change the fact that Moats and his wife left an open window for him. Was their acceptance of his apology justified? If Vick and Duch are believed, will that belief be justified?

Some 14 centuries ago, a Hebrew prophet named Jeremiah said it best: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

As I said, I wish Goodell luck. Anyone judging hearts needs it.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.