By Jonathan Wilkinson
A couple of weeks ago Michael Vick did something that no other quarterback in the history of the NFL has ever done, he throw 4 TD passes, rushed for 2, had 300 passing yards and had 50 rushing yards. Vick's is arguably the form player in the NFL at the moment and this has led to talk of him being the MVP of the league come the end of the season if he continues this form and manages to lead his team, the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl.
What makes this worthy of a post is that 3 years ago he was arrested and convicted of playing a major role in interstate dog fighting, which lead to him spending 21 months in prison, losing his contract with the Atalanta Falcons and filing for bankruptcy.
Following his release he was given a second chance at the Eagles, for a small amount of money and only a one year contract. He was the 3rd choose Quarterback behind McNabb and Kolb but then McNabb was traded to the Redskins and Kolb got injured in the first game of this season. To say that Vick took his second chance is a bit of an understatement, he is now the starter and has led his team to the top of his division.
Here we meet the moral questions about this, some would say that he does not deserve a second chance to make millions at the top of his sport because of his crimes, certainly many dog lovers do. However this is a flawed view where the person is letting their heart rule their head, here we have a man who has served his time for the crime he committed and like anybody deserves a chance at rehabilitation. If you have a problem with the time he served for the crime, that is a fault of the justice system not Vick's.
Also his crime was not related to the sport he plays, he was not taking performance enhancing drugs or rigging matches. These are the sort of offensives that should result in prolonged suspensions from sport and it is not the job of sporting bodies to punish it's players for "real" crimes, that is the job of the courts.
In summary Vick's crimes were horrible but he served his time and it is a good thing that he is rebuilding his career, showing that there is life after crime and that people can take second chances and hopefully not repeat the mistakes of their past.
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