Pete Alfano 
Print
E-Mail
Michael Vick shouldn’t get a second chance in the NFL
At some point, commissioner Roger Goodell will have completed his God-like task of looking into the heart, mind and soul of Michael Vick and deciding that the wayward quarterback has shown enough remorse to be allowed back into the NFL.
By then, the league, as well as teams interested in acquiring Vick’s services will probably have held summit meetings with animal-rights activists and reached an agreement on what Vick must do and say to earn his second chance.
And a convicted dog killer will be under center once more, perhaps still flashing some of that extraordinary talent he once had.
Gee, doesn’t sound too good when you put it that way, does it?
We live in a country of second, third and sometimes even more chances. Athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs serve their time on the sidelines and suit up again. Athletes who are arrested for DUI, domestic abuse, barroom brawls, or, quite literally, shooting themselves in the foot or leg are welcomed back if they can help a team win.
So why shouldn’t Vick get his second chance? Tony Dungy, who retired after last season as the Indianapolis Colts’ coach and is still perhaps the most respected person in the NFL, met with Vick in prison and says that everyone makes mistakes and that Vick should be given an opportunity to repair his image and reputation.
Well, since no one is perfect, we’d all like to think we would be given at least a second chance if we stumble. The question is whether that should be a blanket policy no matter what the crime or transgression.
What Vick did is not just a grownup version of young boys pulling the wings off flies or even tossing stones at ducks in a pond.
Vick bankrolled a dogfighting ring at his secluded Virginia country home and, worse yet, he helped torture and kill dogs that were no longer considered worthy inside the ring. This wasn’t a one-time misstep either; this was how Vick — a husband and father — spent some of his down time off the field.
It represents a pattern of behavior that not only is abhorrent, but raises red flags about how Vick values life in general.
Do we really think that public-service announcements would prove he is truly repentant? Would appearing with Cesar Millan on an episode of the Dog Whisperer expunge his "mistake?"
Not from where we sit.
You may argue that dogs aren’t people, as some have, and dismiss the animal-rights activists as kooks, bleeding hearts or having their priorities out of whack. And you may have read enough about the aggressive nature of pit bulls; on Friday, a pit bull owned by Steelers linebacker James Harrison bit Harrison’s 2-year-old son on the leg.
Yet dogs are an integral part of American culture, romanticized in books, movies and song, and often treated like a member of the family, from Lassie and Rin Tin Tin to Old Yeller, Lady and the Tramp, and David Letterman’s stupid pet tricks.
Let’s say, though, that you’re not a dog lover. Imagine, then, that Vick was underwriting a fight club in his back yard, something along the lines of mixed martial arts. Imagine a man — not man’s best friend — climbing into a ring to pummel another man senseless without any oversight or regulations by a sanctioning body.
Then imagine someone dying in the ring. We wouldn’t be talking about whether Vick should be reinstated because he’d be too old when he got out of prison.
Some will say that his punishment will be the stigma he carries, and the taunting he will get from fans. We can’t imagine too many endorsement contracts, can you?
Some wonder how Vick would earn a living for his family if he couldn’t play football.
How about this? Instead of for just the next two months, let him get a full-time job in construction. Maybe it’s the only hard hat Vick should be allowed to wear.
