Vick may be despicable, but he deserves to play football

Let me start off this column by saying that I think Michael Vick is complete scum for the heinous crimes that he committed. Dogfighting and the brutal killing of dogs are disgusting and despicable acts.

However, let's put this in perspective. Right now, there are men in the NFL who directly were involved in the death of human beings. Actual people died as a result of the acts committed by current NFL players.

In 1998, Leonard Little failed several sobriety tests after running a red light and slamming his Lincoln Navigator into a 47-year-old woman's car. The woman died the next day, and Little was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Little still can be found rushing the quarterback for the St. Louis Rams.

Donte Stallworth struck and killed a man with his car a few months ago, and he was sentenced to just 30 days in jail for his crime. Stallworth is still under contract with the Cleveland Browns, and will only miss one year of football.
Ray Lewis spent time in jail after being charged with double murder in 2000, but wound up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice. Despite that, Lewis has been to 10 Pro Bowls in his career, was on the cover of Madden 2005, and just signed a $44.5 million contract extension.

So if two people can die from the direct actions of NFL players, and Ray Lewis played some role surrounding the death of two more, why is there so much outrage over the Eagles signing Michael Vick?

In total, Vick served 19 months in jail and lost out on more than $100 million. That is far more time in jail and money lost than Lewis, Little and Stallworth combined, yet his actions didn't hurt a single person.

Heck, there are people in Philadelphia who want to let convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal roam free on our streets, and our president wants us to worry about the treatment of terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, but Vick shouldn't be allowed to play football?

I think it is time to let him show us that he has been rehabilitated, and begin to rebuild his life, which includes playing football.

Thankfully he will be playing for us, and not against us.

Now, I don't actually know how good of a player Vick will be after missing more than two years of NFL games and practices, and I never thought he was a great quarterback to begin with, but he was always a threat to break a few tackles and come up with a big play. If he is close to his former self, he could be a complete menace on the field for a few plays each week.

Opposing defensive coordinators now have to plan for the Eagles' potent offense, and then devote practice time to stopping whatever trick plays Vick will run. Could you imagine the confusion it would cause for a defense if Vick, Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, and DeSean Jackson were all on the field at the same time? Defenses will have no idea whether the play will be a pass or a run, and then once they have figured that part out, they still will have no idea who is getting the carry or throwing the pass.

I will never like Vick as a person, but regardless of what I think about his crimes or his sentence, he has paid his debt to society, and I will root for him to succeed because he is wearing the jersey of my favorite team.

And, if you don't like that Vick is free to make $1.6 million this year to play football, then campaign against the people in Virginia who didn't make sure that he received a longer sentence.

And, if you don't like that Vick will be a person that children look up to, then be a good parent and make sure your child knows the difference between a football player and a role model.

Michael Vick is certainly not a role model, but regardless of whether we think it is right, our legal system allows him to be a football player, and in some games, he won’t be the biggest offender on the field.