Second Chance for Vick?

Anyone who knows me and/or pays any attention to my Facebook posts knows that I'm rather fond of animals. So it might surprise you that I think the loathsome thug that is Michael Vick should get a second chance in the NFL.

Let me be clear: I hate what he did. I get really angry when I think about the animals that suffered because of him. I reveled in his fall from grace, and if I could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life, I probably would. The animal-lover in me wants to throw him in a pit with a few fighting dogs and close the door. That is my gut feeling.

But the rational me knows the man deserves a second chance in life. He was found guilty of his crimes and took the punishment the law imposed on him, and when his sentence is over he has the right to start over. Some say his punishment wasn't hard enough, that even though he's done his time he still shouldn't be given the chance to play football again and make millions. That's crazy, animal-fanatic talk. Michael Vick is forever tainted and he will never be able to erase from our collective memory the brutal and savage nature of his crimes, no matter how many good deeds he does or how successful he might once again become. We will always be able to point out his scarlet letter. But the law says he's paid his debt to society and now it's society's responsibility to leave him alone to let him live his life.

Word has it he'll be working with the Humane Society of the United States to educate kids about dogfighting, and who better to do that? Kids, especially teenage boys, will listen to him before they listen to Anne Marie Lucas or some irrelevant (but well-intentioned) animal rights celeb, like Chrissie Hynde or Brigitte Bardot. He could potentially take the fight against dog fighting to a whole new level, and that is something we should hope for and embrace.

I'll be happy each time he gets sacked or intercepted. I'll be happy if he never gets a starting job. He has a right to fight for that starting job, though. He has a right to try and rebuild, to make himself a better person than he was before. He has a right to a second chance.