Michael Vick Says He Cried Over His Actions

In an appearance on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, disgraced quarterback Michael Vick that he wept in disgust over his own cruelty to animals while serving time in prison for running a dogfighting ring. Vick also revealed that he found God while imprisoned.

Vick said:

"When I was in prison, I was disgusted, you know, because of what I let happen to those animals. I could've put a stop to it.

And that was the reason I cried so many nights. I should've took the initiative to stop it all. I feel so bad about that now. I didn't step up. I wasn't a leader."

The former Atlanta Falcons star served 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting operation which involved shooting, beating and electrocuting hundreds of pit bulls.

Vick continued:

"I thought it was fun, and it was exciting at the time. It all led to me laying in a prison bunk by myself with no one to talk to but myself.

It's wrong, man. I don't know how many times I gotta say it. I mean, it was wrong."

Vick now pledges to devote himself to teaching kids from poor backgrounds like his to be kind to animals. He also apologized for lying to federal investigators and to Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who had given him the NFL's largest ever contract and defended him from the animal cruelty accusations.

He said he had "just totally lost touch with my Lord and savior" and said returning to religion was "the only way I made it through prison."

Vick was reinstated by the NFL in late July, and was recently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles with a $1.6 million contract.