There's an interesting post at Shutdown Corner on players whose off-field run ins with the law may or may not be worse than former Hokie quarterback Michael Vick.

The point of the post is that if Vick comes back, like all the players mentioned, fans are consenting to their presence by watching games and buying tickets and merchandise. It asks if NFL fans can live with having Vick back and if they can "accept an NFL that employs someone who did what Michael Vick did."

I think Vick should be reinstated into the NFL and I don't think doing so condones what he did. What he did was reprehensible. But he's paid his debt to society. Because he funding a dogfighting operation he's broke, he's been to jail and he now lives at home with his mother.

I don't have a problem with Vick returning to the NFL if he can do it. He hasn't played in two years and he'll be 29 in a month. He has fewer playing years ahead of him than behind him. I think it would be a minor miracle if he starts another game at quarterback. Of course, I hope he does because I have a bet with a friend that he'll be the starting QB for the Cowboys in the next two years.

Like all of us, Vick deserves a second chance. He's not a sociopath nor is he a victim of his surroundings. He is ultimately responsible for what he did and he's taken his punishment. Now if he's willing to take responsibility for what he did and make amends, he deserves to be in the NFL if he can make it back.

I get asked a lot if I'm still a Michael Vick fan. Usually it's by ass hole Oklahoma fans who think they can get to me by bringing up Vick and then making a joke about the kind of person Virginia Tech's football team produces.

Yes, I'm still a Michael Vick fan. I saw him do jaw-dropping things on the football field during his two years at Tech. He kept me on my seat because every play with him under center had the potential to result in six. He's still one of my all-time favorite Hokie players.

But I don't consider him an idol. What he did has no place in a decent society. But I still think he deserves a second chance. I hope he gets it and takes advantage of it.

Linkage

Hokies

- Tech has the toughest OOC schedule in the ACC. (College Game Balls)
- Former Tech fullback Mickey Fitzgerald. (Blogsburg)
- Michael Vick's next chapter begins. (The North End Zone)

ACC and Opponents

- Why my love of college basketball has waned: AAU and shoe deals. (Testudo Times)
- Don't mess with Najeh Davenport. (Seventh Floor)
- Brian looks at BC's basketball attendance and partially blames the ACC for its decline while Jeff goes to Pottery Barn. (BC Interruption)
- Miami's offense won't squeeze the Charmin this year. (All Canes)

Stuff Only I Care About

- I don't like Michigan but I don't lampoon it in this space. Because if your logic is flawed, Brian won't pull any punches. (MGoBlog)
- The Sox' top hitting prospect is struggling this year. (Full Count)
- I would rather have the playoffs canceled due to swine flu than the Red Wings win another Stanley Cup. (From the Rink)
- When in doubt, draft a Wheat King. (Die by the Blade)
- Was LSUfreek asleep at the wheel for this one? (EDSBS)