{"id":131,"date":"2009-08-17T20:06:59","date_gmt":"2009-08-17T20:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/everydayethics\/2009\/08\/nfl-forgives-vicks-sins.html"},"modified":"2009-08-17T20:06:59","modified_gmt":"2009-08-17T20:06:59","slug":"nfl-forgives-vicks-sins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/2009\/08\/nfl-forgives-vicks-sins.html","title":{"rendered":"NFL Forgives Vick’s Sins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time to re-visit the question of Michael Vick, now that he’s been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>. In my original post<\/a>, I asked if–having paid his dues– he should be welcomed back into the NFL with open arms.<\/p>\n

The reaction (on this blog and the real world) was mixed; some believed that his dogfighting had nothing to do with his football career and he should be allowed to continue playing. One person suggested that in order to make monetary amends with the Humane Society<\/a>, ASPCA<\/a> and other such organizations, he would need an NFL contract.<\/p>\n

On the other side of things, there were those who felt that Vick showed nothing less than sociopathic tendencies and shouldn’t be allowed back into a position where he would serve as a role model for children (and some adults).<\/p>\n

I just can’t help but feel that his easy re-entry is an ethical letdown. Here’s why:<\/p>\n

Vick may have paid his dues in prison, but why does he get to step straight into his 6 million dollar shoes? I don’t believe anyone who has served their time should be deprived of a livelihood, but it worries me that he was granted such easy access back into fame and fortune. Sure, a $6 million contract is a far cry from his once-fortune of $130 million, but I highly doubt anyone is going to deny that this is still a tidy sum of money for someone newly released from prison.<\/p>\n

It worries me because I hear fans and sports commentators talking about his redemption being based on how well he does for the Eagles. Football is a game; animals are living creatures that can feel not only pain, but agony<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Vick says he regrets his decisions and that he cried during his nights in prison – that sounds about as sorry as I feel the morning after I’ve had one glass of wine too many. I suppose I’d like to see him work his way back into public trust, because like it or not, he is a public figure. And working his way back into that trust shouldn’t just mean a 60 Minutes interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Vick’s own statement he said, “I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right…” So how exactly did he earn that privilege back? By serving his time? Apples and oranges! He was convicted of a crime and served his sentence. So yes, he has earned the right<\/i> to carry on in society and become a productive citizen. When, exactly, did he earn back the privilege<\/i> of playing in the NFL?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time to re-visit the question of Michael Vick, now that he’s been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. In my original post, I asked if–having paid his dues– he should be welcomed back into the NFL with open arms. The reaction (on this blog and the real world) was mixed; some believed that his dogfighting had…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6,36,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-padmini-mangunta","category-current-events","category-news","category-sportsmanship"],"yoast_head":"\nNFL Forgives Vick's Sins - Everyday Ethics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/2009\/08\/nfl-forgives-vicks-sins.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL Forgives Vick's Sins - Everyday Ethics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Time to re-visit the question of Michael Vick, now that he’s been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. In my original post, I asked if–having paid his dues– he should be welcomed back into the NFL with open arms. 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In addition to writing for a various print and online publications, such as Parenting Magazine and iVillage, she was the Website Manager for the Henry Street Settlement, a social services and arts organization serving Manhattan's Lower East Side. Most recently, she worked on the Thai-Myanmar border as a writer for the Burma Human Rights Yearbook. Her curiosity about human nature, coupled with duel streaks of idealism and Midwestern pragmatism, developed into an ongoing discussion with friends, family and strangers on ethical quandaries. When she's not asking \"Why?\" you might have trouble finding her, as her hobbies include nosing around used bookstores, exploring the world (near and far), meeting new people and occasionally twiddling her thumbs while daydreaming.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/author\/pmangunta"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}