Michael Vick

I wrote back in 2007 that I wouldn’t write anything else about Michael Vick on this blog. I was so disappointed in him, the star athlete who threw all of the trust and respect that was given to him away for a dog fighting business that was heinous and cruel. A quarterback that was dazzling to watch, but someone who got lost in believing he was above reproach. I was done with him…

At least I thought.

Mike is back among the free now, and looking for a team to pick him up so he can go back to playing football. The past couple of days have been absolute bedlam as sports and news anchors scramble to be the first to determine his future. Everyone has an opinion, and they want to feed it to us so we can have that same opinion.

Well, I for one have my own opinion. It may or may not be shared by others, but I really don’t care. It may be a popular opinion, or it may not be, but I don’t care about that one either. What I do care about is a man who has paid his debt to society being allowed to pick back up what he knows and determine if he can excel again. Michael Vick is a football player; this is what he knows. This is who he is, and to withhold it from him would be the biggest crime.

I was watching MSNBC today and a PETA representative was on saying that rushing MV back to football was a mistake. The PETA representative went on to say that until MV had a complete neurological exam to determine that his mind had been rid of the demonic attitude that pushed him toward abusing the dogs, that he should not be allowed into the NFL.

That is way too much, PETA.

Here’s the thing: from what I know about dog fighting (and I know this from personal experience, so don’t even go there), the owners of these dogs love them. It may not be the way that I love my Manolo, or you love your dog…but they do. They don’t see it as cruel; they see it as this being the dog’s nature and they are simply bringing that nature out of them. I know there will be disagreement with that; so be it. But these dogs are well-taken care of…compare that to the puppy mill dogs and I think you can see which needs the neurological exam.

With all of that said, I do not condone or use that argument to justify what MV did. He committed a crime. My argument is that he has made restitution for that crime. And no matter what you think the punishment should be, he has already fulfilled the legal requirements asked of him. Playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right…but this is what he knows, what he loves…why should he not get the chance to go back to it to earn his living? Even if he has to start at the bottom and work his way back up, so what? This is his life…I say let him live it.

I was reading some of the comments over at ESPN and one commenter said that comparing MV to let’s say, Donte’ Stallworth is not the same thing. The commenter went even further to call Donte’ Stallworth’s situation an accident. How and when is driving while drunk, then killing someone, an accident? That is never the truth and it never will be. I do agree, however, that you cannot compare the two. The only thing that they have in common is that they were both crimes and both Donte’ and Michael made stupid mistakes.

Michael Vick is a football player. Let him play football.

Peace and blessings…