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Should Vick Return? Dohrmann Thinks Not
Posted by MattyGabe at 11:25PM on 7-20-09
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URL: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/george_dohrmann/0…
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Michael Vick, fresh off a 23-month federal prison sentence for financing and participating in the dog-fighting operation known as Bad Newz Kennels, should be banned from the NFL for life.
I say that even though the prevailing opinion among my colleagues at Sports Illustrated and other national voices, like William C. Rhoden of The New York Times, is Vick should be back in the league this season. They have written with conviction that when commissioner Roger Goodell reviews the matter, he should allow Vick's return. Rhoden wrote that Vick earned a second chance "by virtue of his incarceration," and SI.com's Peter King wrote: "I think there is no good reason why Michael Vick ... should not be reinstated to play in the NFL this fall. None.""
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Dohrmann makes a couple great points, and if you're even remotely interested in the NFL or in animal rights, it's a good read on the issue.
This issue is one that polarizes, for sure. For good reason.
I still feel, however, that Vick should be re-instated and they should simply allow the market to decide. This is where I feel Dohrmann falls short, because his reasoning ends up being "you may scare away some potential fans". Oh, really? Is that something that Goodell should be that worried about? Can you really measure lost profit due to "potential fans"? Seems that Dohrmann was fishing and didn't really have an answer here.
The man has done his time, and while Dohrmann is correct in saying that "well, XYZ killed someone and they didn't get either, why should he? he just killed a few dogs" or whatever. That's a whole new can of worms that no one should be willing to open. It doesn't matter. He served his time for what was deemed fitting for his crime. Goodell should make his life easy and simply say, "Look, I'm just the commissioner. I let the legal system take care of it as it did. Now it's in my hands, and I have nothing else to do."
What most likely will happen is that no team will take a chance on him. Oakland? Forget it. St Louis? No way. He's too much of a lightning rod, no one is willing to put that kinda stress on their PR people.
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