I will admit to being a football fan, and I have watched this story develop.  I have totally mixed emotions about Michael Vick playing football again.  Ed Morrissey posted his observations (and an interesting poll) at Hot Air yesterday.  Mr. Morrissey was in Pittsburgh when the announcement that the Eagles had signed Michael Vick was made.  In talking with people at the conference he was attending, he found that most of them opposed the decision to let Michael Vick play professional football again.  When he put a poll up at Hot Air, the response was not the same.

Ed Morrissey points out:

“Vick paid the price for his crimes, as determined by the court. His crime didn’t involve the NFL or the games on the field — unlike, say, gambling on his own team might have involved the NFL. Now that Vick has been released, he should have an opportunity to earn a living. If an NFL team sees him and his talent as a net gain as balanced against his reputation, then the two of them should be able to contract for his services. Of course, fans can also vote with their feet. If football fans don’t like Michael Vick, they can avoid buying tickets to Eagles games, or jeer Vick and the Eagles on the field when they appear. That’s perfectly legitimate, too.

“I think the NFL did the right thing by lifting the ban after Vick’s release. I’m not especially supportive of the Eagles’ decision to pay Vick to play football per se, but I definitely believe they should not have been blocked from doing so.” 

I have very mixed emotions on this whole thing,  The fact that Michael Vick has currently surrounded himself with some very positive role models may be an indication that he is truly sorry for what he has done and is planning to pursue more constructive uses of his time.  The fact that Tony Dungy is working with him as an advisor is a very positive thing.  Michael Vick has paid a price for his crimes.  If he has truly changed, he does deserve a second chance.