Since Michael Vick got out of jail (and out of house arrest), there’s been a lot up in the air about whether or not he’d have a further punishment handed down from the NFL. While a decision concerning a four game suspension has yet to be made, some of his fellow players have made their opinions on the matter known already. John Wawrow from the Associated Press (and posted on Yahoo! Sports) reported what Terrell Owens had to say:
“Why shouldn’t he? I mean, there’s a lot more guys around the league that have done far more worst things than that and gotten second chances,” Owens said.
Owens said he would welcome Vick as a teammate.
“Michael Vick is a guy that really hasn’t any character issues besides what he got a prison sentence for, so why not?” he said.
Now I’m not about to enter into a diatribe about character issues in the NFL. Owens is right when he says there are people who have done worse in the NFL. Michael Vick was arrested and sentenced for his crime. It seems to me like in a criminal case it should be the legal system to mete out judgment rather than a private organization. However, it’s still the NFL’s decision to do what they want to a member of their company.
Michael Vick’s been hated since his arrest so vitriolically not because he’s a criminal (we’re pretty used to that) but because his crime was something we find particularly immoral. People have a soft spot for dogs, and the pictures that came out of the dogs in Vick’s “care” did nothing to help his image.
Here’s the rub though. Are Michael Vick’s crimes forgiven by the NFL if they don’t punish him further? Does inaction on their part translate to condolence as well? OK, but then what if they do punish him. Does a suspension after his rehabilitation in prison and subsequent probation, community service, etc. do anything to try and get him back to a decent way of living? Or is it just pushing him back into a life of crime? Does anyone even care about whether or not Vick’s a “good” guy now? I feel like I’d need to grow a bushier beard before I was ready to answer that.
As bad as his crime was, and I’m a dog lover too, I want to believe that he has paid his debt to society now. You ever notice how much worse it feels when a dog dies in a movie? I still think Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows are sadder than Million Dollar Baby. As such, perhaps we are over-reacting (please no letter bombs) to Vick’s crime a little. Anyway, Michael Vick is not banned from football, so obviously his crime wasn’t against the sport (he’s not as bad as Pete Rose then) and as such he’ll come back to the sport sooner or later. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be sooner.
