Michael Vick's return to work (football is his job at the end of the day) after being involved in a gory crime against defenseless animals, is, on a large scale, very important for America's psyche. To forgive is divine. It is the ultimate conveyence of love to those who may not seemingly deserve it. Think of all the ex-cons who re-enter the world. Vick is just like them. Patriarchal hard-assedness has lead the U.S. to excecute more people than any other country in the world. Whether you believe in 2012 or not, how we treat Michael Vick ultimately will speak volumes for where we are headed as a society.

You speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. Hypocrisy nation is eating this up right now.

Perhaps Jaws was thinking of the long history of racial strife, from Rizzo cops thrashing on poor blacks to the bombing of the MOVE row house to Mumia... but I doubt it. McNabb's run in Philly has been far far more successful than Jaworski's was and yet Jaws remains a hero there and McNabb, well, there you go. Winning's the key, as J Roll pointed out, but it wasn't only the number of losses the Phillies had that led Curt Flood to refuse to go there, eh?

Is it just me or is half the story off the margin?

I watched Vick's press conference today, and almost felt sorry for him. Clearly, he was very nervous, and seemed truly remorseful for what he did. But the I asked myself - how would he have acted and what would he have said if he really weren't sorry for what he did? I don't think there would be a difference.

Despite this question, I found myself almost persuaded by those saying he deserves a second chance and is sincerely sorry for what he did. Then I paid close attention to his words. He repeatedly says he acted w/poor judgment and made a mistake. Well, I'm sorry, but getting into a car accident because you were drunk or even hitting another person because you were angry - those are mistakes. Repeatedly torturing innocent dogs and brutally murdering them is not a mistake. He acted deliberately and with reckless indifference to the suffering of other living creatures.

I wonder what he sees his mistake as? His attrocious acts or getting caught and sent to prison for it. Was it in prison that he realized that beating, electrocuting and drowning innocent creatures was wrong? How could he not have realized this before? Perhaps we should send all young football (& basketball) players to prison for 2 years so they can learn that harming others is wrong,

I really hope that he keeps his word and works with the Humane Society.

"NFL players are coddled and given passes their whole life"

Vick lost 2 years and roughly 70 million!! You think he's not feeling the loss of 70 million dollars? I doubt he feels coddled right now.

Yes, Vick lost $70 million and went to jail, so he wasn't given a free pass there. But, now he's back and the NFL has appointed him a mentor. A man, not an 18 year old kid, but a man with children gets appointed a mentor, and everyone is reaching out to help him because "everyone deserves a second chance."

Oh please... who else in this society is this done for? Look at all the statistics on people who get out of prison and can't find jobs. How many of them are appointed mentors and welcomed back by their communities? I'm sure you can count that number using only one hand.

I believe that people have the ability to redeem themselves. Sometimes it is all we have. I think it is important to point out that Vick is being given a second chance because of his remarkable talent. Maybe as a result of Vick's second chance people will look at others needing a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe I am being also very naive.

I am a rabid Eagles fan (no pun intended) and I am both shocked and thrilled by the signing. I am more thrilled by Reid's statement that he doesn't intend for Vick to be used as merely a backup. I am also kinda proud that the Eagles could be the team to assist Vick on his road to redemption.

I think in many ways Vick occupies a similar space to Barry Bonds in American public opinion. If one were to conduct a survey on reactions to the signing in Philly (and probably in the country more broadly), I think it would break down pretty starkly along racial lines. Telling.

As you said Dave.....yeah there may be antipathy today, but Philly loves a gamer and Vick is a gamer. It's great he has the endorsement of Reid and #5. I'm glad those guys - for whom my warm feelings have been confirmed - have his back. Talk radio is a lot of shouting. Hopefully, when Philly fans see what Mike Vick can do, they will put that formidable passion in Vick's corner. Here's hoping.

Unfortunately, like Michael Vick, I currently have a felony conviction on my record. It is extremely difficult for me to find a job. Luckily, with the support of the greatest girlfriend a guy could have, I have been able to start a new chapter in my life as a stay-at-home father. I never thought I would be a father in that vein, but it has really been enlightening. She has stuck by me like no other. I am rooting for Vick with the 2nd chance he is getting.

Thanks Al. Thanks for your post. It gets to the heart of what I'm saying. This isn't about Michael Vick, the individual. This is about a society that doesn't give ex-felons second chances. If Vick can make a go of this, it has a ripple effect far more profound than the boundaries of sport.

Helena says, and


What is this all about? It's about race, class, and double standards.

DUI is a "mistake," but harming or killing animals is something infinitely worse? Seriously? What about the DUI who drove onto the Taconic Parkway a few weeks ago, killing eight people? Just a mistake?

You want to send "young football (and basketball) players to prison"? Is that a joke? Plenty of NFL players (Vick included) and NBA players will end up there without your Division of Pre-Crime intervening. Vast numbers of aspiring football and basketball players who don't make it to the pros will end up in prison as young men.

They are, if you haven't figured it out yet, the African-American, urban underclass. Torturing dogs bothers you, but I'm sure you haven't given a thought to the suffering engendered by our apartheid system and abject poverty.

If you read this blog, you're a sports fan, right? Perhaps you watch football? A game that has, if not as its object, at least as its acceptable practice the mauling and injuring and sometimes crippling of its combatants? And you want to send them to prison to "learn that harming others is wrong?" Really and truly?

I wonder how many readers of this blog eat meat. Or how many trap mice, or step on ants, or swat mosquitoes, or go hunting, or cheer for thoroughbred horses that are abused to within an inch of their lives (or to death, like Barbaro). I wonder how many members of "PETA" do at least a few of those things. I wonder how many of them stay up at night worrying about how many human beings have been tortured at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, rather than how many lobsters will be served for dinner.

Before Vick not many people gave a damn about dog fighting. Now we're out to lynch the bastards (the people, not the dogs). Meanwhile, back on the ranch...our attitudes about people killing people (except dog-killing people) is about the same. As long as not us in our cushy lives, and preferably in some country that starts in "I" or ends in "-stan," it's pretty much all A-OK.

Let me hear you chant it: USH. USH. USH. The United States of Hypocrisy.

What about war and the carnage it creates, including dogs. The war in Iraq that have killed approx. 1 million people according to several sources, which was based upon weapons of mass destruction. The world is still waiting. Where is the protest, PETA? Now Michael Vick, who attended Virginia Tech, an engineering school, where is your degree? Is football the only thing you can fall back on? It would have been quite different if Mr. Michael Vick went into his own engineering practice or profession other than sports. Mr. Vick has completed his sentence but yet the protest, which shows how hypocritical this world his. No public apology, but this should be between Vick and his God...

Dave, I don't think Sal Paolontonio's claim that the reaction at Lincoln Financial Field was "90-95% negative" is correct.

As an Eagle fan that's not from Philadelphia, I read a lot about the team on the internet. From what I can tell the reaction has been about 50-50. That conclusion is also supported by the results of a poll I voted in on philly.com today where the results were 51-49 against the signing.

Also, from everything I've gathered over the years, people in Philadelphia really don't seem to like Sal Paolontonio. He likes to be a negative sensationalist.

As an Eagles fan, I'm still not comfortable with the things this guy did, but I definately think he deserves a second chance to hopefully redeem himself. I am excited to have him as a member of the Eagles.

All you Vick haters are so ignorant that it makes me sick. The man went to a hardcore prison for 2 years and lost tens of millions of dollars. He deserves a second chance just like anyone else who pays their debt to society. And if you PETA morons actually care about animals you should be happy that Vick is playing football and in the spotlight again because he can now speak out against how stupid dog fighting is. Anyone who thinks Vick is the only person who has fought dogs is so out of touch from reality. It happens all over the place especially in the south and now that vick is speaking against dog fighting it should deter alot of people from doing it and hopefully save many dogs from being forced to fight. If he fights dogs again i hope he goes to jail forever but otherwise let him have his second chance and im willing to bet in the end he will end up saving more dogs than he's killed

I am glad Vick is getting a second chance, as he has paid dearly for his crimes. I am also glad that there is controversy surrounding his return, though I realize the specter of racism clouds the nature of people's reactions. However, there has to be outrage over the brutality of using animals as gambling tools.

Forget Peta and the dogs. I want to know one thing. Did Vick ever fix or throw games while he was the Falcons QB?

Vick as the Falcons QB was horribly inconsistent. He could look brilliant in leading the team to a win one week. The next week he could look awful and the team wouldn't stand a chance. Now, that could be because he never listened to the coaches and thought he could rely on his physical talents to win. Or, it could be he was fixing games.

The key thing about Vick was his involvement in gambling. Did he ever owe money to gamblers? And thus be told to fix a game to repay the debt? Or, now that we know the drastic impact that the relevation of his dog fighting operation had on his life and career, was this ever used as a threat against him? Back when only a few knew about this, did anyone ever use that to tell him to fix or throw a game?

Of course, the NFL has worked very hard to keep this question from ever being discussed. And Mr. Zirin has played along nicely, with his constant focus on PETA and race issues.

But, what I really want to know is, did Michael Vick ever fix or throw games as a Falcon?