All Dogs Go To Heaven

Anyone who has turned on ESPN at all over the past two or three weeks has noticed that Michael Vick has been authorized by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to be allowed to play for the Philidelphia Eagles by week 3 (even though he has already technically played for the team during pre-season matches). This will be Vick's first official return to the NFL since his run in with Johnny Law back in 2007. Vick, who served 18 months in prison for the dog fighting charges he was convicted of, recently spoke to a group of high school kids to both apologize for what he did and to steer them in the right direction. During the speech, clips of which have been broadcast on both ESPN and Youtube, Vick states what he did was, “so foolish,” and also claimed, “I wish I could take it all back”. My question for you the reader is this, do you believe him? Do you honestly think this man has changed his ways and is ready to come back to the NFL, even if it is just as a second string quarterback? A part of me say's no, and to my surprise, a part of me is saying yes. I believe wholeheartedly that what Vick was involved in and the things he did to those dogs, such as killing the weaker ones by electricution and hanging, are unforgivable. Anyone who can take a loving, loyal creature and turn it into a vicious monster can only be a monster themselves. It takes a sick mind to be able to go through with treating an animal in such ruthless manner, and so it is easy to portray Vick as an evil man. But two years is a lot longer a time than it sounds, and just considering how much I know I've changed in two years helps me sympathize with Vick today. He has done his time and now, it seems, he just wants to move on. The fans at Philidelphia cheered when he took the field during the pre-season, and I think this was a large factor in Goodell's decision to let Vick return to the NFL. His return will obviously result in an increase in ratings for Phili games, and I'm sure that didn't hurt him either. But ultimately the question remains, should Vick be allowed to return? Honestly, I think he may have actually learned his lesson this time and is trying his best to turn his life around, but that still doesn't make up for what he's done. Just because an animal can't speak back doesn't mean it can't feel pain or sadness, when you get involved with dogfighting you're still playing with lives and treating them without love or respect, so why are we giving Vick so much of both? I don't care how talented he is, Vick is not a man I want on my roster, and if I were Goodell I'd tell him to keep striving to make a difference for another couple years and then maybe we'll talk about his reinstatement as a third-string running back. But as it is he's been given a second chance, and I can only hope he doesn't take this one for granted.