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Vick should be thrown to the dogs
David Whitley
SPORTS COMMENTARY
November 25, 2008
Reader Warning:
Please don't let your family pets read this. It will only upset them.
Michael Vick may finally have something to smile about today. He will appear in a Virginia court and is expected to receive a suspended sentence on two felony charges.
Vick could have gotten another 10 years in prison. Instead, today's plea agreement will grease the way for him to serve part of his remaining federal sentence in a halfway house. With good behavior, he'll be a free man next summer.
At the risk of making your dog growl, I say good for Vick. After all he's been through, the now-poor guy deserves a break.
But one thing Vick will never deserve is another chance to play in the NFL. If you disagree, please read the previously confidential report released last week.
It turns out the guy was even more of a scumbag than we imagined. He'd put family pets in the ring with fighting dogs and laugh as they were mauled. When one his flunkey friends suggested they give away dogs that wouldn't fight, Vick ordered them killed.
He even did the honors to one poor mutt, "slamming it to the ground several times before it died, breaking the dog's back or neck," the report said. Vick paid someone $100 to dig graves for the dog carcasses. His flunkey friends "did not like him to do any type of work that could injure him and jeopardize his NFL contract."
Vick's work with animals eventually did more than that. He lost his freedom, his reputation and his $130 million contract. Today is the first real step toward regaining some of his old life.
It's doubtful Roger Goodell will allow Vick back before 2010 at the earliest. But Vick's lawyers have told a bankruptcy court their client will eventually return.
"The debtor has every reason to believe that upon his release, he will be reinstated into the NFL, resume his career and be able to earn a substantial living."
Would you pay 10 cents toward this guy's salary?
Maybe if he was fighting pit bulls. But a lot of people would still buy season tickets to watch him play football.
They have defended Vick throughout this saga. First they said he couldn't have done it. Then he was set up. Then he was given too harsh a sentence.
After all, the victims were dogs. Not humans.
They point out St. Louis linebacker Leonard Little is still in the league, and he killed a woman while driving drunk in 1998. The NFL never should have let him return, and it's doubtful Goodell would have if he'd been commissioner at the time.
Now he'll have to start pondering Vick's case. Vick will say he's paid his debt to society and should be allowed to work.
Sure he should, but working in the NFL is not a right. Why would any employer want to re-hire someone with Vick's baggage? If Goodell is even tempted, he should remember these words:
"I love dogs."
That's what Vick told Goodell last April after the Feds first raided his farm. Vick eventually lied so much that the judge sentenced him to five extra months in jail.
"I'm not convinced you've fully accepted responsibility," he told Vick.
Today Mr. Dog Lover will undoubtedly tell the judge that he's learned his lesson. Considering he's been making 12 cents an hour washing dishes, he probably has.
So by all means, let Vick get on with his life. I suggest he apply for work at a cemetery.
If nothing else, he's certainly learned how to dig his own grave.
David Whitley can be reached at
dwhitley@orlandosentinel.com.
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