08-21-2007, 10:18 AM
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 Michael Vick Doesn't Deserve A Second Chance
THERE SHOULD BE NO SECOND CHANCE FOR VICK Quote:
Though we're going to wait to see the statement of facts that Mike Vick signs on August 27, we will presume for now that it will contain an admission from Vick as to his involvement in the killing of eight dogs in April 2007 who were deemed to be unfit for fighting. We think that this is a fair presumption to make, because two of his codefendants admitted to participating in these activities, and said that Vick was involved, too. Thus, our guess is that federal prosecutors have pre-drafted Vick's statement of facts to include such an admission, and that prosecutors have made it clear to him that signing the document as written is a condition for accepting the plea offer.
So, if that's true, Vick will be admitting not only to being an illegal gambler and a dog fighter, but also to killing canines in cold blood. Man's best friend. The things that Vick has said he loves. Remember this?
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As many talking heads already are saying, Vick's decision to plead guilty and, more importantly, to admit guilt is the first step in his quest for redemption. As Tom Jackson correctly said on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown on (duh) Monday night, we are a society that loves to give second chances.
But some people don't get second chances in our society. Pedophiles don't get second chances. Mass murderers don't get second chances (largely because they never get out of jail). Even today, some 40 years after the commission of his crimes, would anyone give Charles Manson anything other than a minimum-wage job if he were to find himself again among the free?
Though our society has never had the occasion to consider whether to give a second chance to a star athlete who admits to killing dogs, we think that no second chance should be available to Mike Vick, and we hope to hear from the "real" media plenty of skepticism regarding Vick's apparent effort to lay the foundation for his redemption by authorizing his lawyer to issue a statement in which Mike acknowledges the "mistakes he has made."
Folks, this wasn't a bad decision made in a night club under the influence of Grey Goose. This "mistake" was a lifestyle that unfolded over a period of years. It's something that Vick likely would still be doing if his property in Virginia hadn't been searched by authorities in late April.
And after the operation was found, what did Vick do? Did he take responsibility then? No -- he blamed his friends and family.
"I'm never there. I'm never at the house. I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing. The issue will get resolved."
Oh, it has been resolved, Mike. It surely has been resolved.
Folks, he lied. To you, to the Commissioner, and to the man who has paid him millions of dollars.
And then Vick hunkered down, using the notion of innocent until proven guilty -- a principle aimed only at protecting the truly innocent -- to force local and federal officials to marshal enough evidence before Vick would even consider admitting that he'd been caught.
He almost got lucky. Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter was, by all appearances, ready and willing to sweep all of this under the rug, until federal authorities wisely got involved.
Then, when Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury, he continued to remain silent. His lawyer professed his innocence on the courthouse steps, but in a perfunctory way that convinced no one who wasn't already predisposed to believing that Vick was clean.
It was only after Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace pleaded guilty that Vick even began to ponder the possibility of coming clean. And he only "did the right thing" after trying to get the best deal possible for doing it.
Look, we've got no problem with a guy engaging in aggressive plea negotiations in an effort to come out of the discussions with the most positive (or, as the case may be least negative) outcome, it's unfair and inappropriate for Vick to sell this as acceptance of full responsibility.
The notion of accepting full responsibility implies that Vick has done something honorable. But there is no honor in Vick's actions. He cried "uncle" as his arm was about to be snapped off.
Other members of the media ("real" or otherwise) might be sufficiently naive to be buffaloed by this. But not us. And we hope that any NFL team that might be seduced by Vick's superb but primarily one-dimensional skills in 2010 or thereafter will consider the situation very carefully before giving this man a second chance that, in our view, he simply does not deserve.
So maybe the right outcome here is for the Commissioner to protect all future owners and coaches and G.M.'s from themselves by banning Vick for life.
| Makes sense to me. Redemption my ass. |
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