Get this widget Track details eSnips Social DNA

Michael Vick and the NFL: to be or not to be?

That is the question, but who answers?

by: Beth Jones

8/3/09

Michael Vick is a free man, and he's been conditionally reinstated to the NFL on the good graces of Commissioner Roger Goodell. Per this second chance Vick will get to take part in any team activities other than official games and can apply for full re-instatement as early as week one of the regular season.

But does he deserve the shot and what kind of a risk does the obliging team take? The Jets, Giants, and Cowboys already gave the thumbs-down as did the Atlanta Falcons for whom Vick was playing when he was arrested and imprisoned. To weigh the risk, you have to weigh what he did, and the image that projects. So consider the crime...He was the figurehead and proprietor of an illegal dog-fighting kennel and ring. He oversaw the fights themselves, organized them, and raised dogs for them. His fights were reportedly "till the end fights", which means they weren't over until one dog either surrendered or died. Death by malling...slow, horribly painful and grotesquely inhumane. But the dog was worse off if they lost by surrendering to their opponent. Then they faced death anyway, but at the hands of their owner instead, meaning Vick. According to court documents, Vick ruled whether a losing dog lived or more often how it would die, and often participated. His methods included dousing a dog in water and then electrocuting it, strangulation, hanging, or slamming the dog to the ground. Death by body slam...perhaps Vick should consider a career in professional wrestling instead.

Consider the punishment now...he served 18 months in a federal prison, and lost millions in endorsements, not to mention a very lucrative playing contract with the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of 130 million dollars. I admittedly have no insight as what life is like in federal prison, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he wasn't doused with water and electrocuted, hanged or body slammed. In other words, other than his wallet and his career taking a big hit, has he really suffered anywhere close to what he inflicted, and does he understand what he inflicted enough to be truly sorry? I doubt it.

In the end, it's down to what his would-be coaches think of his crimes, and his punishment. For Vick's sake, here's hoping they're not all dog-lovers.