Michael Vick Should Be Allowed Back in the NFL

Michael Vick has committed heinous crimes against animals, and will justifiably be considered a disgusting individual by a significant portion of his fellow humans for the rest of his life. This conduct, which revolved around a vicious dogfighting ring Vick had a hand in running, has cost the former millionaire his entire fortune and nearly two years of his freedom, spent in a federal penitentiary in Kansas. On July 20, he will be released from the slammer once and for all, provided he doesn't do anything to trigger a suspended sentence on a separate state charge.

When Vick re-enters the world, he will be 29 years old and still very much in his athletic prime. During his last year in the league, 2006, he rushed for over 1,000 yards, averaging 8.4 yards per carry, and threw for another 2,400+. Simply put, he remains the most unique talent the pro game has seen in a long, long time, even if his Falcons failed to make much of a mark in the postseason. And while Atlanta has said it wants nothing to do with Vick if and when he's reinstated — despite the fact that they still hold his rights — as long as the likes of Al Davis are still occupying owners' boxes around the league, someone is bound to give him a second chance.

And make no mistake about it: Vick deserves that chance.

NFL commish Roger Goodell will be under tremendous pressure from animal rights activists and decent American citizens alike to ban Vick from the league, or at least impose a suspension so severe that Vick is compelled to find another line of work (or another country to work in). To succumb to such impulses would be understandable. It would also be un-American, not to mention hypocritical, in light of the league's forgiving treatment of Pac-Man Jones.

Vick has basically already served a two-year suspension from the league — not whiling away the hours in a sprawling exurban mansion with a DirecTV flipper in hand, mind you, but locked behind bars, where he belonged. He has been contrite and humble since acknowledging his crimes, loathsome as they were. Beyond that, he's now bankrupt, sure to be kryptonite to his once-adoring sponsors, and likely possessing of few job prospects beyond the gridiron.

If Vick were an average citizen, his fellow average citizens would likely be in favor of him returning to the trade he knows best, so as to make a living and avoid the tempting traps of recidivism that plague the American justice system. Yet because he's most assuredly not an average citizen, his release will be met by scores of (pardon the pun) rabid animal rights acitivists shadowing his every move, as if a very public trial and two years in Leavenworth weren't enough to drive the point home that he'd done something terribly wrong.

But just as it would be un-American to prevent those activists from shouting obscenities at Vick whenenver he runs to the corner store for a gallon of milk, it'd be just as un-American for Goodell or the NFL to deny him the chance to seek employment in — and on — a field where he's he's been an elite performer. Vick has failed at life so far, and the best recourse he has to try and make a positive contribution to a society that he's sullied through his prior actions should start at some team's training camp in 2009. Hate the player, sure, but don't hate him for playing the game. And don't hate the game for letting him play.

Topics: NFL

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