I've personally tried to stay away from this subject but after seeing highlights of that press conference I couldn't help it. Watching Jeff Lurie act all self righteous after he has made the decision to sign him just irked me to no end. I have to question again, do people really care about this subject as much as the media is portraying. I work with an animal lover and of about 30 to 40 people in the office I work in, she's the only who really seems to be bothered that Vick is allowed back. Most people are good with the fact the guy has served his time, an actual athlete/celebrity doing time, and now he's getting to do what he does best. So I guess, for the last time I'm asking are you okay with him getting a second shot. Are you okay with the way some people are making him a whipping boy still two years later. Do you think the public relations of the Tony Dungy and the like is really necessary.
I think it is necessary to give people another shot especially in incidents which are new to the public. This is a situation in which a lot of people didn't see the severity of what Vick was being found guilty of when this was brought up because environments and options. Sometimes we need to use this to educate the public of what this is all about. The Humane Society has this right by using Vick to educate the public on this issue, while you have PETA who has decided to try to treat Vick as villain and ostracize him and an evil force. When you they to solute problems like this like that you become more of a divider instead of an educator and making people aware. So yes I think Michael should get a second chance. It would do more good than harm.
I think that's a fair point that this is an educational opportunity. Dog Fighting is big in Houston but I've never really paid attention to the way these dogs are treated.
I um, it's a tough one for me. I love dogs and my dog is very dear to me. I also have much respect for Tony Dungy and do believe in second chances. I didn't watch the press conference and I'm just avoiding the whole thing. Only time will tell how Vick turns out. There's been a lot of talk about Vick and Stallworth recently, and the thing is most sports watching men can understand Stallworth's sin more than Vick's. I'm not as forgiving for drunk driving as many others are, but I also think that Vick's actions were much more evil than Stallworth's. Stallworth was flat out stupid and made terrible judgments, that lead to a man slaughtering. Vick has said many times that he made bad judgments, but I see it as much more than that. This dude tortured and killed numerous dogs. It wasn't for food or survival. It was cruelty for fun. It was sick in my opinion...It really takes a certain kind of evil in your heart to be able to do those things. He was an adult. I guess I can buy culture being apart of it. But it's not like Vick was a child soldier from the 3rd world totally ignorant of the value of life. His bad judgments was ignoring the opportunity to do good in his world and instead kept feeding the evil inside him. And if you keep feeding that evil you become evil. That's how I viewed Vick, and honestly I have no certain opinion of him now. He did his illegal gambling time and he's okay it the NFL's eyes. I guess I'm okay with him being allowed to play football. I just really hope he's truly changed in his heart.
I think what he did sucked ass. But I absolutely think he paid his debt for it...and I hope he's a different person. He absolutely deserves another chance.
If the person hiring him is okay with his past sins then I don't see why anyone else should care. I see him as any other person looking for a job with a criminal record, there is no difference to me.
This is beyond Mike Vick. The question has to be . . does ANYONE deserve a second chance Why do some get another shot . . but others do not? I mean some insider traders and white color criminals have sent people to near abject poverty that will take a generation or two to recover from. . . . yet they back in the same industry after 6 months to a year some are celebrated for their ingenuity So why are some allow to get a second chance and other not? ASIDE: My son was watching Pokemon. It got me to thinking. This is a show about kids making two animals fight each other in 'battles' until one is rendered unconscious. While the animals are imaginary and it is a cartoon . . . I have to wonder if this sets in the minds of kids that it maybe ok for two animals to be forced into a fighting situation. Rocket River Some Dog Fighters may love their dog every bit as much as Ash Ketchum loves Pikachu . . . just food for thought
I am very glad that the NFL took this into consideration; the sanctions in both cases make sense. Now it's a matter of Philly fans vs PETA activists. should be fun
He served his time and lost everything he had. Give him a chance. PETA activists are nutjobs anyway. Philly is the one town where they'd better watch themselves. I'm going to the season opener vs. the Saints on Sept 20 and I look forward to seeing some freaky PETA craziness. ...damn...if I only hadnt thrown away my David Carr fur coat....
I do believe Vick deserves another chance to play in the NFL again, and like a lot of people have said he has served his time. However, I do have the right to boo and heckle the crap out of him because I don't like what he did.
I think what Vick did was systematic, deliberate and depraved, but he's served his time. It's good that very few people take PETA seriously. I hope Vick turns his life around regardless of what happens on the football field. Stallworth's mistake had a worse result than Vick's, but people drive while intoxicated all the time. I'm very glad Goodell came down on him hard. Now if only society as a whole would cease to tolerate drunk driving under any circumstances by passing more punitive laws.
I think vick should get this second chance, like many poster have say, he lost millions of dollar in nfl contract money, and 2 year in jails( who know what he has been through in there) is harsh enough. Also, now he got this second chance he can help more animal than he hurt in the pass.
I and several other generations of children spent our entire childhood watching Bugs Bunny drop anvils on Elmer Fudd. I never felt the slightest desire to try that and I don't know anybody who extrapolated that dropping anvils on people's heads was OK behavior. If you can send a dog to bloody itself in a fight and claim that you love it, then your love is like the love of a man for a sports car or any other possession, not the love and caring of one sentient being for another. Michael Vick did his time. Let him play. That doesn't mean I will ever think of him as anything but a thug, nor would I ever leave him unsupervised with pets or children. But if Ray Lewis can do what he did, it should be proof that you can be a bad human being and be allowed to play pro football.
This post is awesome on so many levels. Vick did his time. Let him try to earn his way back into society. It will forever piss some people off to see him being successful now. That's life. Like Texxx said, where were the protestors when Leonard Little was suspended only 8 games and lost $125,000 for killing someone in a DUI crash? Are there going to be people outside of the Browns stadium next year when Donte Stallworth gets back on the field? Nope. Premeditated animal cruelty/killing and illegal gambling across state lines is bad; but negligent manslaughter is worse. And yet Vick served a longer sentence than is typically handed down for his actions (in addition to a suspension), and a *much* longer term than either Little or Stallworth (30 and 90 days in jail, respectively). And yet when Vick makes his first appearance in an NFL stadium in week 6, you bet your ass the national news will be all over it and the protestors will be out in force with signs and effigies. These folks have some messed up priorities. Go pick on someone who HASN'T had justice served to them.
I don't beleive in a direct correlation however . . . it is a bit of a dicotomy that we place infront of our kids and In case you have not noticed. . . kids to day are not like kids of our day Yes. . it was a slip . . . not Fuedian but . .. I did mean White Collar Criminals [which a bunch of which are of white color] Rocket River I have no qualms of owning my mistake BTW - the point remains .
Sorry, but Vick does not deserve a second chance in the NFL. First of all, I have trouble believing he is truly contrite. If he had confessed to the crime BEFORE being busted, renounced his actions, and atoned for it, I might believe him. But he didn't do that: he lied about, tried to cover it up, did his time with nary a word of contrition, and is only now offering a full explanation/apology...right about the time he smells a fat paycheck headed his way. I have trouble taking him at his word. Second, he didn't just run a gambling ring: he participated in the intentional abuse, drowning, electrocution, and hanging of multiple animals, all for nothing more than cruel entertainment. Such behavior is sociopathic and cannot be forgiven. Vick's actions are far worse than Stallworth's: the man whom Stallworth hit jumped out into traffic, and it's quite probable that Stallworth would have hit him even if he hadn't had a drop to drink. Stallworth immediately called the police, submitted to a sobriety test, expressed his grief and regret and tried to make amends with the family. No one told him to do this: he did it because it was the right thing to do. THOSE are the actions of a person who made a bad choice and is contrite. You could argue that Vick has paid the penalty required of him by the law, and that's all well and good. But just because he's done his time, that doesn't mean he gets his job back. If I'm a teacher and I get sent to prison for toturing and killing animals, I don't get to keep teaching after I get out. Goodell made the wrong choice: Vick should be banned for life. So you believe one bad decision that may or may not have led to a death is worse than the intentional polonged infliction of pain and death on many lives? I disagree whole-heartedly.
