Life is not Fair for Michael Vick

Michael Vick is stupid. He's dumb for getting involved with dogfighting, he's dumb for getting caught, he's dumb for many reasons. But for some reason, I find myself feeling sorry for the man. Thus far Vick has seen a range of responses to the charges and his subsequent plea bargain. Some are still calling for him to be banned for life from the NFL and others, like the ever-so-eloquent Stephon Marbury, are less offended by his crime.

While driving my brother to the airport, we were talking about our perspective, as vegetarians, in the Michael Vick case. It would seem to make sense that I should feel strongly against Michael Vick returning to play football. However, the more I consider his position, the more I am convinced that he should be imprisoned for his crime and after serving his sentence, he should be allowed to return to football without any further suspension. Although this may be counterintuitive, I feel that there is a good explanation for this. At the foundation of my reasoning, I find it hard to really differentiate dogfighting from dairy farming, veal farming, hunting, and other forms of animal cruelty. Executing dogs after a dogfight is no different than forcing a baby cow to sit in a cage so that its muscles stay tender.

In no way to I condone what Vick has done and he has knowingly involved himself in illegal activities. His charges include conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. Now, ignoring the details of how the dogs were killed, these charges do not look like heinous crimes deserving extensive suspensions. Comparatively, Mike Tyson was convicted of rape in 1992 and after serving his time in jail was in the boxing ring within two years of his release in 1995. In retrospect, perhaps Tyson did not deserve the second, third, fourth, etc chances that he received but at the time, even a convicted rapist was given an opportunity to rehabilitate himself. More specific to football, Pacman Jones is involved in a shooting that left several people injured and one man paralyzed. Despite all of his incidents and misbehavior, Pacman was given a single year's suspension from the league.

I think the trick in this case, for animal lovers and non-lovers alike, is to separate the details of the crime from the severity of the felony committed. The lawyers and judges will use the details to determine the appropriate punishment for Vick. And yes, he will spend time in jail. But remember that jail is the way people pay their debt to society. Michael Vick has not been an angel in the NFL but at the same time he has not had any other major incidents on his file. There would be no precedent as a base for a lifetime ban against Vick.

Roger Goodell, however, might chose to make Michael Vick into an example. He might be given another year of suspension beyond his jail sentence just to make a point to the rest of the league. But I think Goodell should be careful in handing out such severe penalties. Ray Lewis was let off the hook lightly, despite being charged with murder. Jamal Lewis only got 2 games after attempting to sell Cocaine. Tank Johnson was given 8 games only after repeatedly violating the conduct policy and violating probation, not to mention, he had assault rifles sitting around his house. All in all, I expect Vick to miss a total of two years of football. He could potentially come back sooner, but hopefully no later.

What makes this situation more difficult is the fact that Vick is an easy target. In the same way that Bonds is an easy target for baseball's steroid problems, Vick is a wealthy, successful, black athlete and people want to see him fall. His story is one of perseverance and success from humble beginnings. He might have just walked himself into a trap that will take away from everything that he has done right and focus on what he has done wrong.