Football Friday

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Instead of previewing my teams I am going to rant a little bit. And run the risk of alienating more than a few people but I will say what I think has to be said. People around the country are all upset that Michael Vick signed with the Eagles and will get a chance to play football again after serving 20 months in prison for organizing a dogfighting ring. I think it is time we gained a little perspective. There are 2 men in the NFL right now who have killed human beings while driving drunk. These men have, or will have, been 'forgiven' and allowed to play (or will be in a year). These men are Leonard Little and Donte Stallworth.

Yet I hazard a guess that far more coverage and indignation has been spent on Michael Vick than on these 2 killers. I am not minimizing what Vick did, but I think there is something terribly upside down in our culture when someone who organized a dog fighting ring where no human beings were hurt receives more coverage and condemnation than 2 men who knowingly stepped behind of the wheel of a car while drunk and killed 2 innocent human beings.

And these 2 men have together served (or will serve) 1/4 of the jail time that Vick has already served. And one of them has been allowed to earn millions of dollars since his action, while some people believe that Vick should not be given a chance to earn a living again doing the same thing.

All I ask is before you get all worked up about Michael Vick playing football again consider this: does he deserve more or less of a penalty and a chance of forgiveness than someone who has knowingly taken the life of another human being?