Give Vick His Chance

Let me preface this by saying I have never been a Michael Vick fan. I didn’t care for him when he played at Virginia Tech or when he was quarterbacking the Atlanta Falcons. I had followed him enough to know he kind of had that “thug” mentality that people my age find distasteful although tons of little kids could be seen wearing his #7 jersey. Vick was not my kind of pro athlete. Now that he’s a Philadelphia Eagle it’s even easier to root against him but yet there I was last night watching a pre-season NFL game and hoping he would do well.

I have not changed my opinion of him but I just can’t understand all of these people who refuse to accept that he is being given a chance to resume his career and life. Of course we are talking about a man who spent 18 months in prison for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring….an operation that resulted in dogs being tortured and killed. There is no defense….it was a heinous crime that cannot be defended. However Vick served the time he was given which of course interrupted his rising football career and would lead to the loss of millions of dollars. Again nobody is really sympathetic towards that because he did this all to himself.

But he has paid the debt society gave to him and has been given a chance by the Eagles to show he can still play. They would like you to believe they are doing the right thing in giving the 29-year old a shot at redemption but they (and we) know they signed Vick in the hopes that he will make them a better team. Only time will tell if they are right. While I don’t expect most people will ever forgive him for his crime it’s time to leave him alone. The animal rights advocates who continue to make him their whipping boy should find something or someone else because just about everyone….even Michael Vick deserves a second chance.

On an unrelated note….a correction to something I talked about yesterday. The walk to remember Lisa Zindell and raise awareness of domestic violence is this Sunday and not Saturday. That event will take place at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell from 11am-2pm…again on Sunday.