2nd Chances

I am struggling morally with the fact that Michael Vick got a second $100 million dollar contract. Why should people get second chances after doing something as horrific as murdering dogs for fun?

I don't condone his actions in the least, but for the most part he does seem to have straightened his life out since he got out of prison. You may be able to find some comfort in the fact that A) NFL contracts are not guaranteed, although he is guaranteed at least $40 million in it but B) most of it will not be going to him, but paying his lawyers and all the back money he owes to creditors and the Atlanta Falcons as well.

I think everyone deserves a second and maybe third chance.

Professional sports organizations don't care if someone is a criminal...just if they can win. It's all about the Benjamin's, reguardless of if it's moral or not.

I didn't really pay attention, but wasn't he found guilty? Didn't the courts punish him? I.E. Didn't he do prison time?

Maybe this will make you feel a bit better then...

vick's $100 million contract is much more hypothetical than reported

In short Vick is not even guaranteed $40 million, more like $35.5 million with a $3 million bonus if the Eagles win the Super Bowl in the next two season. Furthermore, the sixth year of the contact will disappear in November because as soon as Vick appears in 35% of his team's games in one season the sixth year is voided. It was added to the contact only to allow it to be advertised as a $100 million deal. If he reaches every incentive (which would require winning multiple Super Bowls in the next three years) the deal is *only* a five-year, $81 million contract.

Lies, damn lies, statistics, and sports contracts

Dan Y.

There is no way that can be true that everyone deserves a second and third chance. A child rapist or a mass murderer does not deserve a second chance. Now we all make mistakes. For example, a DUI is a bad mistake and at the time a very very bad decision. Punching someone in the heat of an argument I feel is the same. Systematically taking innocent dogs and electricuting them or drowning them or hanging them over the course of a few years is not a one or even two time mistake. it is a systematic pattern of abhorent, remorseless behaviour that would have continued if he had not gotten caught. Before you tell me "well they are just animals". For the record many many dogs in this country are used as airport marshalls, drug dogs, patrolling police dogs that try to help keep our airports and garages safe and various other places in society safe. If he perhaps in a fit of rage had killed a dog that lost a fight, I might be able to see that as a mistake that should not happen again, but not a systematic execution of dog after dog for his pleasure.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I didn't really pay attention, but wasn't he found guilty? Didn't the courts punish him? I.E. Didn't he do prison time?

Yes he did pay his debt to society but that doesnt give those dogs a second chance at life. I feel the same way about murderers and pediphiles who are convicted. Some crimes dont have a sentence long enough for them. I also dont think 2 years was long enough in prison.

I don't believe in gods, but I feel very strongly that the Christian concept of forgiveness and redemption is the cornerstone of a just society.

Quote: hook3670

Before you tell me "well they are just animals". For the record many many dogs in this country are used as airport marshalls, drug dogs, patrolling police dogs that try to help keep our airports and garages safe and various other places in society safe.

And more than that. Dogs are by far the most useful animal in human society. They're loyal companions, protectors and even guides. Whereas we've been replacing work animals with machines for over a century, dogs have become more ubiquitous. They're essential to law enforcement in several capacities (arson dogs, tracking dogs, bomb-sniffing dogs, etc), they're useful in the military, they serve as guides and helpers for people with various disabilities, and a lot more.

Dogs are special, then, not just animals. Most dogs are even raised to behave around people, and for sure most can tell people apart from animals. In an emotional and behavioral sense they're the clsoest thing to being human. In that way, they may be considered as family.

And yet they are animals. We love dogs, overall, in the West and elsewhere, and we use them, too. But we also kill off or neglect the excess dog population. For the most part such killing is done humanely, but ti's still killing. And in a way it's even necessary, as otherwise a large population of feral street dogs would be a nuissance at best and a health hazzard at worst.

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If he perhaps in a fit of rage had killed a dog that lost a fight, I might be able to see that as a mistake that should not happen again, but not a systematic execution of dog after dog for his pleasure.

Well, fighting the dogs is a form of abuse in the first palce, but otherwise I agree.

Vick should not ahve gone to prison, but the NFL should have banned him for life.

At that he's also lucky that the game has toned down the level of violence allowed in the field. If Vick played by 60's or even 70's rules, he'd surely have been injured badly by now by a dog-loving lineman.