Should the NFL give Michael Vick a second chance?
Life, learning and football
Since we’ve been writing a lot about punishment lately, it’s worth taking up the case of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Recently released after an 18-month stay in federal prison for operating a dogfighting ring in his own home, Vick signed a contract last week with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Should Vick have the chance to play football again?
Legally, he has fulfilled the retributive obligations of justice. He committed a crime and served out the appointed sentence. If we feel that 18 months is insufficient for what most describe as remarkably cruel treatment of animals, then the problem is one endemic to the criminal justice system.
Still, Vick’s debt to society may have a remaining balance. While he has fulfilled the legal penalties imposed, some believe that the social cost of crimes extends beyond the reach of the law.
Celebrity — and athletic celebrity, in particular — is a place where this kind of argument makes the most sense. Vick is arguably a role model to a generation of young children. To many Americans, Vick bears a responsibility for the dubious example he has set.
But Vick isn’t shirking that debt either. He is already working with the Humane Society of the United States to speak out against dogfighting and develop anti-dogfighting initiatives. The authenticity of Vick’s actions is for others to judge, but he is donating his time and celebrity to setting a new example.
That leaves the NFL. Like most of the major sporting leagues in America, the NFL can essentially do whatever it wants. The NFL has a vaguely worded Personal Conduct Policy, which gives it free reign to punish players:
Any Covered Person convicted of or admitting to a criminal violation (including a plea to a lesser included offense; a plea of nolo contendere or no contest; or the acceptance of a diversionary program, deferred adjudication, disposition of supervision, or similar arrangement) will be subject to discipline as determined by the Commissioner. Such discipline may include a fine, suspension without pay and/or banishment from the League. Any Covered Person convicted of or admitting to a second criminal violation will be suspended without pay or banished for a period of time to be determined by the Commissioner.
Players do have recourse through the players’ union, but appeals are not guaranteed and the word of the commissioner is final.
Some arguments to keep Vick out of the league would be as follows:
1. The standard of conduct in the NFL is higher than in the judicial system, and therefore his NFL punishment has not been exhausted by his legal sentence.
2. The reputational cost to the league is too great.
Pete Rose’s banishment from baseball follows some mixture of the two. Gambling on baseball is a greater crime vis-a-vis baseball than federally, and the perceived cost to league legitimacy was simply too high.
In Vick’s case, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decided a second chance was in order, but made clear in a leaked letter to Vick that his “margin for error is extremely limited.”
It is impossible to determine whether Goodell was moved morally to provide Vick with a new lease on life or whether the potential financial benefits of Vick’s reinstatement drove his decision.
But having been out of the league for two years and saddled with a lifetime quarterback rating of 75.7, it may not be Vick’s treatment of animals that leads to his final dismissal from football.
–Sam
Image used under a Creative Commons attribution license from Flickr user Keith Allison.
Related posts:
- More on Michael Vick
- Should the NFL be a legal monopoly like MLB?
- Casey at the battaca
- Give me health care, or give me death
- Michael Gerson: Closet German Idealist?
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