NFL commissioner should not reinstate Vick

Michael Vick should not be allowed to play in the NFL. There you go.

In case you’ve been living under Yuniesky Betancourt’s third chin the last few years, Vick has spent the last 19 months in federal prison for financing and participating in a dog fighting ring. The former NFL quarterback is now out of prison. He’ll spend a couple months in home confinement and then a few years on probation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell said he won’t make a decision on Vick’s future with the league until the sentence has been completed along with a new background check.

The details of Vick’s dog fighting ring have been well chronicled. If you need more information, just do a Web search and you’ll spend the next week and a half sifting through the documentation. For me, it’s not only the killing of the dogs, but the way that he and his dirt bag buddies engaged in the act. It’s not like they walked up and quickly put the dog out of its misery. No, these sociopaths strung them up, electrocuted or drowned the dogs. Vick personally hung or drowned seven dogs. I can’t comprehend engaging in such a thing, nor do I want to try.

Those who think Vick should be reinstated will point to the fact that there are a number of convicted felons or “criminals” who are playing in the NFL after serving their time in the clink. Tank Johnson (weapons), Leonard Little (manslaughter), and Pacman Jones (miscellaneous), just to name a few, have all been allowed to continue their careers in the NFL despite off field trouble. So, why shouldn’t Vick be allowed the same right, the argument goes. On queue, ESPN’s Jemele Hill has made this a racial issue – framing Vick’s case as a story of an African American man trying to “overcome.” Like always, Hill does a disservice for intelligent discussion about race relations. Vick being black is irrelevant to me. I’d feel the same way about him if he were a lily white Canadian NHL goalkeeper.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think any of the other convicted criminals should be allowed to play either. Playing in the NFL is a right not a privilege, that’s the easy argument. But that’s not all. NFL teams have a responsibility to the communities in which they reside to do the right thing and not employ (that’s the key word) people who are likely to commit crimes. It’s not only a PR issue, it’s also about being a good corporate citizen. NFL teams are a public-private endeavor. Us taxpayers will foot the bill for your stadium and amenities while you NFL owners import people from other locales who will not damage the fabric of the community and provide 17 Sundays of sports entertainment a year. That should be the deal.

Vick has the right to obtain gainful employment and shouldn’t be denied that right. But he is also a convicted felon. The NFL doesn’t have to hire him, nor does any other company for that matter. Almost all companies do background checks before hiring people for key positions in their companies.

I can’t get a good job if I’m a convicted felon. In fact, I couldn’t get a job if I had a misdemeanor on my record stemming from a violent altercation. If I got drunk in a bar, pushed someone over and was cited for misdemeanor assault, I couldn’t get a job at most companies. If I had a bag of cocaine in my pocket while doing this, I could forget about getting a job with at least 90 percent of businesses in the area.

Vick is trying to do and say all the right things now that he’s out of prison, but let's not forget that if he were not caught, he'd still be committing these crimes. Vick is contrite because he is going after a job that could potentially pay him millions of dollars for years to come. Nothing more.

Vick and his camp are in full PR mode. He’s got a film crew following him, hoping a studio will purchase the rights to a documentary. And Vick recently met with the Humane Society to talk about a partnership. However, I don’t think any of these activities should help Vick earn points toward an NFL comeback. He has the right to sell his story and write his book. He also has the right to try to find a job, wherever that may be. But he should not be allowed back on an NFL playing field.