Michael Vick's waiting game

I think the easiest/fairest solution for everyone is to let Vick play in the UFL this year. Read my article on it at footballtalktoday.com

Donte Stallworth kills someone and gets 30 days while Michael Vick kills a dog and gets two years.

Guess what they say is true, people love their pets and hate other people.

Anyone convicted of such a crime should be booted from the NFL. What sense does it make that a murderer/wife beater/drug abuser/etc... can be allowed to come back?

Well, I eat beef, chicken, pork, fish... and it isn't the organic free-range stuff either. I don't like what Vick did, but c'mon let's be realistic. Cattle get treated nearly as bad as those dogs but nobody cares because they're so damn tasty.

Regardless, how is it ethical to condemn a man for something when he's served his legally mandated time in prison? This is all about optics on the NFL's part, and personally I think Vick has earned the right, via jail time served, to be judged based on his actions from the date of his release onward.

And let's not even get into how much less of a story this would be if he'd just dealt drugs or beat his wife. Better to smack the wife than Sir Barksalot. What a screwed up society.

I agree Stallworth got off way to easy but what he did was an accident. Granted it was really ignorant but in the end it was still an accident. Vick on the other hand knew exactly what he was doing and he did it repeatedly. If Vick is allowed to re-enter the NFL I'm done as a fan. No more fantasy football leagues, no more attending games, no more buying merchandise and no more Sundays in front of the TV.

I have zero respect for either of these guys but what Vick did is unforgivable to me. Even when he was caught red handed Vick continued to protest his innocence which shows me he has zero remorse.

HE WOULD USE PEOPLES PETS THEY CAUGHT IN PRIVATE YARDS AND THROW THEM INTO PITS WITH KILLER DOGS JUST FOR FUN. HE ADMITTED THIS.

HE SHOULD BE BANNED FOR LIFE FROM FOOTBALL.

Agree with this. Stallworth got off way to easy but what he did was an accident. Granted it was really ignorant but in the end it was still an accident. Vick on the other hand knew exactly what he was doing and he did it repeatedly. If Vick is allowed to re-enter the NFL I'm done as a fan. No more fantasy football leagues, no more attending games, no more buying merchandise and no more Sundays in front of the TV.

I can't really see why you wouldn't want to watch NFL no more just because Vick gets reinstated, I personally hopes he gets reinstated as soon as possible. Eventhough I have a dog, loves dogs and thinks his crime is awful, I think that a man deserves a second chance. Isn't that how the justicesystem is supposed to work. The reason for sending criminals to prison is to keep them of the streets AND make them think about what they've done so that they won't do it again. So if we don't give them this second chance how are they ever gonna get on with their lives.
Of course I can see that he probably isn't the greatest rolemodel but on the other hand do NFL players only hacvve to be rolemodels to ordinary people, how about the ex-criminal who realizes that he also has a second chance in live, like Vick might get, doesn't he deserve a break too.
And how is driving under the influence of alcohol and killing somebody an accident! Did Stallworth not now that he was drunk??? Theres a reason that it's illegal to DUI.

You really going to jack in the entire sport if Vick comes back in for a season or two of mediocre backup duty then probably retires?

If you're into it enough to post a message on a football news website I doubt you'll actually follow through with that threat.

10 years down the line when Vick is nothing but a small footnote in history you still won't be watching games? Come on.

Jack,
I wonder what team will give him another shot and be willing to deal with the local market PR issues that are sure to come. any thoughts?

Mark

British

I can assure you as a die hard football fan that I would stop following Football in a flash if Vick is allowed to return. Now, how do you think the casual observer is going to react ?

I think that Vick should be reinstated as soon as he completes his sentence. As Paul Parsons states, his crime is really not all that heinous when compared to murder, rape, and DUI homicide (recall that Leonard Little got just eight games for dui vehicular homicide). Vick had already paid a substantial price for his actions and now deserves a chance to use his skills and abilities to rebuild his life. Frankly, I think that the NFL should do everything it can to support him in this endeavor, rather than throwing down additional sanctions.

I also have to say that, as a foreigner, the Vick debates I have seen in the media and in online forums suggest that Americans have an irrational attachment to dogs. As Parsons writes, we kill and abuse all sorts of different animals for profit, sustenance, and amusement. Why should this situation be any different just because 'man's best friend' is involved? That is a question for which I have yet to develop a satisfactory answer.

Jack. What a poorly written and researched article about the reinstatement of Michael Vick. I expected better from you. Please apologise to all for OMITTING the fact that most of his crimes stem from his participation in illegal gambling.

"Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player." That is quoted from Comissioner Goodell to Michael Vick.

Participating in illegal gambling, as you ought to know, is absolutely verboten for all NFL players and none are exempt. Yet, Vick financed illegal gambling anyway. He thought he was too cool to get caught and lied and denied once he was caught. There is NO WAY that he should be reinstated any time soon.

Next time, Jack, please stick to the true facts like we have come to expect from you.