Michael Vick: What Ever Happened to Second Chances?

Monday, April 13th, 2009
by steveb

Michael Vick, a once superstar NFL quarterback, is known now as an inhumane, horrible person who some think should never be given a second chance. They say he is a “terrible person, a monster”, some one who will never receive the full punishment for what he did and should not even be considered for re-admittance into the NFL.  I disagree.

Yes, Michael Vick committed a felon, and yes he had all the money in the world and did not even need to be in that position in the first place. But before all you animal lovers go crazy, let’s look at the sport of dog fighting. It’s no different from bull fighting or cock fighting. It’s more of a culture than a sport. This is the culture Vick was raised in. I love dogs, but in this culture you must understand that these people do not care for the feelings of these animals, nor do they care if they are even alive for that matter. This does not mean it is acceptable, but at the same time it does not mean he should be the target for society. In some third world countries, dog fighting is legal, and practiced routinely without any protesting whatsoever. I bet most of the people who were so angry at what Vick did have never even cared enough to even research this, let alone fight against it. What about bullfighting? Or cockfighting for that matter? In multiple states, cockfighting is legal and a popular sport in southern states. Why don’t these outraged animal lovers protest and go psycho over chickens? Is it because dogs are a more important animal? That doesn’t make any sense at all, people choosing what animals deserve more rights than others. Chickens are animals just like dogs, so why are dogs so protected? Perhaps because they are household pets, therefore they are more familiar to society.

This is no reason to attack dog killers and not cockfighting rings, bullfighting rings, or even food-processing plants that kill thousands of animals a day. Bulls, although illegal in the U.S., are slaughtered and killed just like chickens and dogs, and in countries like Spain and Mexico, this is celebrated and promoted as a popular sport. If these people care so much about Michael Vick killing dogs and using them to fight, then why don’t they attack these other organization s who do the same thing with other animals. Because he was a celebrity, a sports icon, he gained a lot more media attention than a cockfighting ring in Mexico, but that does not give these outraged people the reason to go after Vick so harshly. If they feel that strongly about animals, go on and fight for the chickens dying everyday, the bulls dying everyday in these same practices.

I understand Michael Vick made a mistake, a stupid one for that matter, and although he was raised in this morally-wrong culture, it does not exempt him from being punished for his wrong-doing. But on the other hand, he does not deserve the massive criticism from the public just because he was an NFL football player. Since when does everyone do everything right and make no mistakes? Everyone is guilty of doing something wrong, and at one point in everyone’s life, they have received a second chance. What Michael Vick did was wrong, but not to the point where he can not be given a second chance once he does his time in prison. According to Espn.com, Atlanta Falcon’s owner, Arthur Blank, says that he and Vick have been writing letters back and forth and that Vick tells him “what he has learned, the lessons of life, and how he is going to come out a different person.” No one knows how true this is until he is actually released, but Blank says he sounds very sincere. Although Vick messed up a couple years ago, he still has t he chance to become a better person, but is the pubic, the all-of-a-sudden morally good, dog-loving, animal rights supporting public going to give him this chance?

Many professional athletes, including Bernard Hopkins, Tonya Harding, Allen Iverson, Jamal Lewis, and Mike Tyson, all convicted athletes (some serving longer sentences than Vick), were welcomed back into their professional sport with little protest. The American people need to stop acting so concerned about animals just because of what Vick did, and give him a second chance to prove that he did make a mistake, has learned from it, and is ready to be a better person. After all, he is only human just like the rest of us. We all make mistakes and are hopefully (and usually) given a another opportunity, so hopefully the public can move on from this and give him his second chance.

Photo Credit: nineball2727

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