Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Vick Deserves a Second Chance


So Michael Vick is now a free man, but is he really free? He will be living with the stigma of his crime for the rest of his days, a man who blew nearly $200 million for a dogfighting ring that may have produced $200,000 at best. The man who slaughtered innocent dogs when they weren't up to the task of being vicious killers of other dogs.

He spent nearly two years in prison, lost his status as an NFL star, role model and leader of the Atlanta Falcons franchise. He is no longer a star, he is an also ran who soon will be looking for a job. He is no longer a role model, except for those young athletes who should stray away from his catastrophic mistakes and not drown in their arrogance and stupidity.

It's time for Michael Vick to have a chance to earn a living and if playing in the NFL is his aspiration, he should be allowed to pursue it. Obviously Vick's plight might be helped by the recent 24-day jail sentence of Donte Stallworth, who killed a man in a vehicular accident while legally drunk in March. Kill a man, get 24 days. Kill a dog, get two years.

It's not fair, but Vick can't think about being wronged because he put himself in this avoidable position. He has to move on and hopefully NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell can allow us all to move on by reinstating Vick immediately. No more suspensions. No more Vick watches outside of his Virginia home. Let the man live in peace because he's already paid for his mistakes and will continue to play with the staunch of being a dog killer.