Should Vick Get a Second Chance?

Tuesday night, Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden was my guest in the studio at 5pm, and I asked him hypothetically if, as a G.M., he would consider giving Michael Vick a second chance on a a team that he ran, assuming Vick paid his debt to society and showed some degree of contrition. Bowden said no. But then he turned the tables on me and asked if I would give Vick a second chance. With about half-a-second to consider my answer, I too said no, explaining hurriedly that as a G.M., I wouldn't want to offend my season ticket-holders who were dog lovers.

 

I regret that answer.

 

With more time to think about it, I would answer yes -- I would give Michael Vick a second chance.

 

People will misconstrue this position for something it is not. Like everyone else, I am disgusted by what Michael Vick did. The stories of the grotesque manner in which he disposed of underperforming dogs makes me sick to my stomach. He deserves to be punished -- and punished severely by both the legal system and the NFL. That said, we are a nation of second chances, and Michael Vick deserves one like anyone else. The nature of the criminal justice system is that every crime has a corresponding punishment, and once that punishment is served, the perpetrator gets to re-enter society. Distasteful as it may be, this is true of sex offenders, drug dealers and even violent offenders -- and should be true for Michael Vick as well.

 

Repulsed as I am by Michael Vick's actions, I cannot stand here and condemn him in perpetuity, telling him he has no right to live and work as a free man for the rest of his life. His crime is repugnant, but not worthy of a life sentence. It is possible that Michael Vick can rehabilitate both his soul and his image. Lesser men have done so. As a man who has been the beneficiary of second chances, I am in no position to refuse Michael Vick his.