Since Michael Vick has started the final two months of his federal sentence in home confinement, the biggest question surrounding his future has been whether he should be allowed to play in the NFL again.
Without a doubt, he should be allowed to earn a spot on a NFL roster.
Do not get me wrong, I am an animal lover and have always had man’s best friend at my side. What Vick did to the animals was cruel and inhumane and he needed to be punished.
Vick’s punishment came in the form of serving 19 months in a federal prison, which by no means is easy. There was also the financial punishment imposed on Vick by those outside of the courtroom.
In 2004, Vick signed a 10-year, $130 million contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons. In July 2008, Vick filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He claimed assets of $16 million versus liabilities valued at $20.4 million.
This doesn’t include the countless millions of dollars he lost from future NFL contracts and endorsements.
Surprisingly, this is not enough for some people, who vehemently believe Vick should not be allowed the chance to earn his way back into the NFL for the remainder of his life.
Why should we give Vick a second chance?
Because he has done his time according to the laws we have set forth in this great country. Don’t forget, there have been other NFL players involved with crimes against our fellow man with charges like aggravated assault, manslaughter, and murder.
Look at how many public protests PETA made since Vick’s story first broke compared to the lack of public protests after Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian while under the influence.
Some have actually argued that Vick should not be given a second chance because had he not been caught, he would have continued committing the heinous crime of animal cruelty.
Last time I checked, the same could be said for anyone who breaks the law, from the person who never uses his seat belt to those people who place no value on human life and will hurt or kill someone in the commission of a crime.
Let’s not forget, Vick isn’t guaranteed a starting quarterback position when he’s done serving his sentence and is reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Vick will have been out of the league for 2 years and will need to show prospective teams that he still has the physical skills needed to compete in the NFL.
Personally, I don’t think Vick’s future in the NFL is going to be anywhere near what he experienced with the Atlanta Falcons.
Vick had already started to regress as a passer in 2006 when we saw a decrease in his completion percentage and an increase in the number of times he was sacked.
There may be a few teams that decide to take a chance on Vick and sign him with the expectation he will be the backup quarterback.
Some team may want to sign him for no other reason than to increase ticket sales and the certain media attention his presence will bring.
Maybe through injuries Vick might get the chance to start again in the NFL, but the remainder of his NFL career will be uneventful until he retires from the game and scrambles off into obscurity or a job at ESPN.
Regardless, Vick deserves another shot, just like all of us deserve a second chance in life.
I don’t think that he “deserves” a chance because he hasn’t proven anythin to any of us that he is a different person. Sure he went to jail, but it’s not like it was his choice to go there. He went there because he was brutally killing and torturing animals.
I’m all for letting him have a second chance, I just wouldn’t say that the guy “deserves” it.
Hey moondog, you dumb sack of crap, comparing idiot Donte Stallworth is f***ing stupid. Donte chose to get in his vehicle, chose his own course of actions. Michael Vick chose to commit these foul crimes against nature. Do you think any of these dogs *chose* to be abused in ways you can’t imagine? Vick should have a lifetime ban from the NFL, to set an example for the ‘tough guy’ thug culture that is pervasive in the NFL, don’t try to deny that many of these “professional atheletes” fight dogs. How many of them might reconsider if Vick is kicked out for good. They banned Pete Rose for a couple of bad bets… Yeah sure, maybe this pathetic waste of humanity can start over, or maybe we put him in a cage and make him fight to the death. Stupid a**hole…
Uh, regarding stupid, I did NOT write the post. See the author of the post and direct your comments to him.
Chefcryo, You are right, both men, Donte and Vick made the choice to due what they did. And yes, the dogs did not make the choice to be abused, Vick and his thug friends made the choice. However what about the man Stallworth hit and killed? The only choice he made was to walk home from work and now his friends and family will never be able to see him again. My problem is why do we seem to give a free pass to a person who killed another person?
The basis of our society is that we give people a second chance if he do something wrong after we serve our punishment, which Vick is doing. Goodell needs to keep Vick on a tight leash if he is going to consider reinstatement and if he does slip up, then yank him out of the league.
Sure, Mike Vick deserves to be able to make a living, but it doesn’t have to be in the NFL.
And to set the record straight, he went to jail for illegally spearheading an interstate gambling operation. Unfortunately he was never tried, nor sentenced for the torture and abuse against animals.
In any event, the gambling ring he was running ought to be enough to keep him out of the NFL. Frankly, I don’t see how anyone could trust him to lead their football team. The guy lost millions, so what makes you think he wouldn’t throw a football game to make a bit of extra cash on the side? And given his history of being a turd, do you really think you could trust him to do the right thing?
Put another way, would you want him to play for YOUR team?
And comparisons to Donte Stallworth are laughable.. Sure, Donte deserves to be removed from the NFL as well, but not at all for the same reasons as Vick. Vick’s actions were deliberately cruel. Donte was just stupid and careless. That doesn’t make what Donte did any better, but when you compare the intent of the actions at face value, Vicks actions are far far worse than Stallworths.
Solid comments SpartaChris. Vick’s actions are more reprehensible when it comes to the thought he put behind it and the follow through. But like you said, he was not charged based on that, rather for funding a betting ring.
The only one I take issue with is the one where you said Donte was just stupid and careless. This bothers me is a common excuse I hear on a monthly basis when other drunk driving cases are determined. I just find that it is a cope out for those behind the wheel. Especially when the drunk driver is normally the one who walks away without injuries.
Thanks for the response, always good to hear solid rebuttal.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to justify or minimize Stallworth’s actions. They are absolutely reprehensible, and he shouldn’t be allowed to play another down in the league again in my mind. And to be honest, the NFL really needs to crack down on drunk drivers playing in the league. Those guys make more than enough money to hire a driver for the night, and many of the teams provide a safe ride for them and their car as a service. There’s really no excuse to get behind the wheel when you’ve been drinking and the league needs to put a stop to that. Like you, I am tired of the cop out excuses.
That said, what I was trying to do was explain why Vicks actions are, at their core, worse than Stallworth’s.
I don’t believe for a second that Stallworth intended to kill the pedestrian. When he carelessly climbed behind the wheel, it wasn’t with the intent on taking a life that night. He didn’t set out to deliberately run down a pedestrian in the middle of the road.
Vick on the other hand intended to torture and murder those dogs in the most brutal of ways. He starved them to make them angry, and those who didn’t fight well enough were either drown, hung, had their heads slammed against the concrete or were electrocuted, often times through the genitals. Vick’s crew created rape stands and frequently stole animals from the neighborhood, household pets, to use as training tools.
When you compare the two crimes, Stallworth’s and Vicks, one definitely sticks out as far more grotesque and heinous than the other. And that isn’t Stallworth’s.
[...] starting to trend in Michael Vick’s favor. The latest and greatest to jump on the “give Vick a second chance” bandwagon is JM Van Horn at MoonDog [...]
[...] Michael Vick deserves a second chance. [...]
[...] Michael Vick Deserves A Second Chance (MoonDog Sports) [...]