A Second Chance?

So I keep hearing something over and over on TV, radio, the internet, work, and anywhere else people communicate..."Everyone deserves a second chance". It's not in relation to a child who made a mistake and was suspended from school, not about an addict who lost it all and can't get back on their feet. The person who brings up this comment so frequently is Michale Vick, who plead guilty to and served jail time for charges related to running a dog fighting operation and animal cruelty. The man organized and financially sponsored the ring, as well as helped first hand in the execution of several dogs, and went away to do hard time because of it. In the fallout, he lost a good portion of the record $125,000,000 contract he had signed a few years prior to this coming out.



So now Vick has finished serving his time and people are stewing about his future. You have those who are staunch animal rights activists that feel he should not be anywhere in the public eye and will protest anywhere they can be seen. You have current and former players who are 100% behind his return to football. You have such a mixed bag of feelings about this topic, because it touches on so many levels of our being: animals, sports, money, ethics, racial tension. But from those who back Mike Vick and his return to the NFL, you hear over and over the catchphrase "everyone deserves a second chance". As much as I believe this statement to be true, and also third and fourth chances, it is greatly flawed as it pertains to this situation.



Along with the statement "everyone deserves a second chance", you almost always hear it followed by "he has a right to make a living". Now as true as this statement is also, again it is flawed as it pertains to Mike Vick and the NFL. A second chance means the opportunity to prove you belong as part of free society, and earning a living means to be able to be employed and make money for it. But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that once you are an NFL player, or a professional athlete in general, that you have the RIGHT to make your living in the same manor once you have fallen from grace. And that is where our social conscience has taken a turn for the worse.



We see these athletes and celebrities and think that is what they were born to do, that it is the only thing they can and should do. And so when they break the law and get in trouble we feel it is a natural thing for them to go right back to doing what they were before, because it is what we associate them with. But tell me this: if you were arrested and serve jail time for what Michael Vick did, would your employer bring you back in the same capacity once you were released? Chances are they wouldn't. Chances are it would be extremely hard to find employment with a criminal record, especially with several felony charges that you fled guilty to. and if you were able to find employment, the choices would be limited and you would have to start at the bottom and work your way up the food chain. So why is it so many people just like you and I feel that it is Mike Vick's God given right to be offered a position on an NFL team now that he has served his time?



Okay, so the Philadelphia Eagles signed Vick to a one year deal paying about $1.6 million, of which reportedly he will pocket $750,000 once he pays back prior debts, and that is a huge step down from the money he was making before his transgressions. But at the same time, $1.6 million, or even $750,000 is more than 75% of us will ever make in a year. So forget if it is fair or not, because it is a free world and employers can hire who they want at their own risk. My problem is with average, everyday citizens of this country that are struggling with their own bills, having a hard time in today's tough financial situation, yet they feel that Mike Vick has the right to play football for a living. Are we that hard up for entertainment these days that even when we don't have money in our savings accounts we still want criminals to get rich so that we can be entertained for 3 hours each Sunday? I sure hope not...