At the risk of having PETA and other groups turn against me, I write this blog in support of Michael Vick.

For crying out loud, let the guy play football.

Let’s think about what he’s done.  He was involved in a dogfighting operation.  Dogs killed each other.  Dogs were killed.  That is totally barbaric and yes, it’s cruelty to animals.

Let’s think about what Vick has had to face.  He served 23 months of jail time while the others who were involved in the trial got off with lesser sentences, so the stereotype that the athlete gets away with the crime does NOT apply here.  Actually, it may have backfired on Vick because he became a target for all the focus groups.  Vick also served time under house arrest and had to get a regular blue-collar job before being released from his duties in society.

Let’s say it again: he did 23 months of jail time.

I stress that because the NFL currently has players like Ray Lewis (let’s pretend he didn’t murder anybody or was involved in any murders) and Leonard Little (DUI manslaughter and then gets another DUI with which he gets off scott-free because of a loophole in the law).  Dead PEOPLE were involved in these circumstances.

Granted, Roger Goodell wasn’t the NFL commish back then, so maybe it’s unfair to compare to Lewis and Little.  How about Adam “I used to be Pacman” Jones then?    He’s in trouble time and time again (involving people, not pets), but before his release from the Cowboys, even he got a second chance.

For Vick, he didn’t find himself in trouble with the law.  He didn’t surround himself in bad environments a la Pacman or Brandon Marshall.  This guy was guilty of a crime, served his time, and now awaits the NFL’s decision as far as what’s up with his playing status.

The word is he’ll get a 4-game suspension.  Um… that means there’s no way he’ll be a starter anywhere unless he goes with a team in turmoil that switches quarterbacks late in the year.  His value automatically takes another hit.

Let’s face it- his value already took a cash hit because NO ONE in their right mind will endorse him.  His hope is to start fresh with a relatively small NFL city and work his way up.  But then there’s this 4-game-suspension potential.

So on one end, you could say he’s still getting a 2nd chance because he’ll be able to play after those 4 games, but on the other hand, a 4-game-suspension impacts him for this entire year and possibly more, because it limits which teams would be willing to stay patient with him, and which teams would be good for him to go to.

So hate me for writing this if you want, but for a rare moment in my life, I’m in agreement with T.O.

Michael Vick has suffered enough.  Make him do all sorts of community service, but don’t punish him any more with taking away the game he loves and the game he’s been without these last two years.