Earlier tonight, Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported that Michael Vick had inked a two year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles (FYI: he is being paid 1.6 million this year, with a club option for 5.2 million the following year). The deal in a sheer "football" term is pretty benign, especially with reports that Vick will compete to be a backup quarterback.
Instead, what makes the deal different is all of the human elements involved in this. PETA will campaign in Philadelphia and do their usual judging of others, and the guess here is that it will happen sooner rather than later. But Vick deserves a second chance from each and every one of you.
What he did was horrific and sad....and not all that different than hunting or cock fighting; two hobbies widely practiced around this country with little to no judgment passed on the people doing them. If we are to take out the illegalities involved, the actions are pretty damn similar. One is accepted by mainstream America and the other is not. Michael Vick paid for it, and paid for it in bigger way than just about any athlete ever. Leonard Little of the St.Louis Rams killed a woman while drunk driving and spent 90 days in jail, not two years like Vick did.
This isn't meant to apologize for Vick. He makes for a poor martyr, but he was punished heavily, and served his time with dignity. It's time to accept him back in the league and be discerning of the crimes, understanding that what he did wasn't as gruesome as killing a human being like current players Donte Stallworth and Leonard Little were convicted of.
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