Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL

[ohiosmith]

ATLANTA (AP) — An NAACP leader said Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL, preferably the Atlanta Falcons, after serving his sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation.

"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

White said the Falcons quarterback made a mistake and should be allowed to prove he has learned from that mistake.

On Monday, Vick said through a lawyer that he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.

Three Vick associates have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and say Vick provided nearly all the gambling and operating funds for the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise. Two of them also said Vick participated in executing at least eight under performing dogs, raising the possibility of the animal cruelty charges.

Last month, state and local leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People urged the public not to rush to judgment in the Vick case. The civil rights organization said animal rights groups, talk radio and the news media were vilifying the embattled athlete, and that his team and corporate sponsors were prematurely punishing Vick.

White said the Atlanta chapter supports Vick's decision to accept a plea bargain if it's in his best interest, but he questioned the credibility of Vick's co-defendants, saying an admission of guilt might be more about cutting losses than the truth.

"At this point, you're not looking at guilt or innocence," White said, referring to the possible harsher sentence Vick could have received had he taken his case to trial and been found guilty. "You're thinking, 'What I better do is cut my losses and take a plea.' But if he saw this as the best thing to do at this point for his future, then I think he made the correct choice."

White said he regretted that the plea deal will mean all the facts of the case might never be known.

"Some have said things to save their own necks," White said. "Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being."

White said he does not support dogfighting and that he considers it as bad as hunting.

"His crime is, it was a dog," White said.

[triguy46]

1. What a crock of shit.

[ohiosmith]

2. But,...but,... he will "bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country".

[Parche]

4. Vick

Make him get on all fours and bark like a dog during half time..........:hi:

[ohiosmith]

8. :

[flvegan]

3. Dumber things have been said.

Oh, wait...I'm mistaken.

[ohiosmith]

6. :

[SteppingRazor]

5. Wouldn't be the first time the NFL has hired ex-cons n/t

[triguy46]

7. True, but from what is being reported, its the tie to gambling...

that is a prob. Because we know that there is no gambling on football and we want to keep it clean.

[SteppingRazor]

9. Right. I mean, I've never heard of anyone gambling on football.

It would certainly be a desecration to the sport.

[MiniMandaRuth]

10. The Madden curse strikes again!

[ohiosmith]

11. Damn, really?

[MiniMandaRuth]

14. Yeah. He was on the 04 cover.

[ohiosmith]

15. Never fizzed on me.

[MiniMandaRuth]

19. I still believe that the Madden curse is very, very real.

:scared:

[bicentennial_baby]

22. it's like the Vera Wang Celebrity wedding dress curse.

:scared:

[MiniMandaRuth]

23. I don't know about that one...

[bicentennial_baby]

26. Rumor has it, that...

Celebrities (women, specifically) who get married in Vera Wang dresses end up divorced not too long after. :shrug:

:)

[MiniMandaRuth]

29. Well... I hope the women are the ones in the Vera Wang dresses.

(JK)

Man, all these fancy curses going around. It's enough to make one faint. :crazy:

[bamacrat]

12. He will never play for the Falcons again, but someone will sign him.

That is if he gets less than 5 years, anymore and he would be too old. Animal cruelty is one of the most awful crimes, because they can't leave or properly defend themselves. If he was charged with child abuse it would be just as bad, it's not because it's a dog. It's because he brutally murdered an otherwise defenseless creature. Had he just shot the dogs, instead of hang or drown them I don't think it would be as bad, still bad and he should do time. But the vicious cold hearted way that he did it.

:puke::puke::puke::puke:

[idgiehkt]

27. I think whenever his name is announced there will be a HUGE

chorus of boos from the stands. Probably at every game. This isn't going to go away.

[Mojambo]

13. I'm fine with the guy resuming his career after he serves his time (and suspension)

This is assuming his physical gifts haven't degraded by the time he gets eligible to play again. Not an easy assumption.

If people don't like it, and most people won't, they shouldn't support the NFL or its sponsors.

Vote with your dollars folks.

[Omphaloskepsis]

16. He should be banned for being involved with something called "Bad Newz Kennels."

Newz... WTF?

[grace0418]

17. He "made a mistake"? A MISTAKE?!?! As in "Oops, I accidentally tortured and killed

a whole bunch of innocent animals just for pleasure?"

Wow, Mr. White and I have a very different definition of "mistake" that's for damn sure.

And while I'm not a huge fan of hunting I don't see it as the same thing. Responsible hunters do not torture animals repeatedly.

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. That's the PC way of saying 'He royally fucked up'

It's like, "He made a bad decision."

:eyes:

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. That'll be for the NFL to decide

If someone "pays their debt to society," I can't think of a good reason why they should be forced to pay further by being barred from their chosen profession.

The NFL probably will ban him, though, for PR reasons.

[nickgutierrez]

21. By the time he gets out of jail - and I'm guessing it'll be 2-3 years...

...the public will have more or less forgotten what he did to get in anyway. The furor will die down, and he'll play again.

He won't be any good, kind of a Mike Tyson kind of situation, but he'll play again.

[idgiehkt]

24. I don't think it will be forgotten at all

Because the crime is singular in the league at this point. Fans probably get confused about which guy(s) got arrested for assault, or DUI, or domestic, or whatever, but which one tortured and killed the animals, well, that is gonna be easy to remember.

[nickgutierrez]

25. They may remember the crime, but the outrage will die out.

Our society has a very short attention span, sadly. As soon as the next shiny thing happens, Michael Vick will be yesterday's news.

[idgiehkt]

28. Time will tell

I really doubt it in this case. I also doubt the NFL will want their brand associated with this kind of sadistic torture of helpless animals. I don't think they will take the risk.

[Kajsa]

30. Hmm- how about the average Joe or Jane who makes

one bad "decision" and it affects him/her for a lifetime?

Does it happen?- Yes.

Why do millionaires get a pass? Yep, I'm REALLY asking
even though I see the previous question answers itself.

btw; What Vick did was much more than a "decision".

It was sadist exploitation, torture and death for those dogs.

[cynatnite]

31. The boos would register on the richter scale if he took the field n/t

[guitar man]

32. horseshit

he screwed up way too bad to ever return, he'd be a financial disaster for any team that touched him with a 10 foot pole.

I'm not all that big on the whole prison labor/industry thing, but he should work on the production line that produces these while he's in the joint, that would be some poetic justice....

http://www.vickdogchewtoy.com/

[undeterred]

33. He should be banned from contact with humans and animals

for the rest of his life. That's all.

[KamaAina]

34. I'm almost sorry he's going down

I was kind of looking forward to Public Enemy No. 7's annual visit to the Superdome, where he has long been persona non grata simply because of the "Dirty Bird" on his helmet.

But after this? Thousands of dogs in Saints doggy sweaters (a NOLA contact assures me that these do exist). The PA blaring "Who Let The Dogs Out?" at maximum volume. Finally, the player introductions: "At quarterback (Boooooooooooo!), from Virginia Tech, number 7, (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!), Michael (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) Vick. (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

Alas, this now will never be.