Thread: Should Michael Vick be Reinstated?

Hard to believe.

Regardless of the 23 month prison sentence for arrangin/organizing/owning a dog fighting ring, he has assets of $16 million and debts of $20 million.

He's broke. He's filing for banktuptcy.

His only chance to return to any security is to play NFL again, and for this he has to be reinstated.

Should he be reinstated in the future?

Judge Rejects Michael Vick Bankruptcy Plan

Disgraced Football Star Sees Brighter Future, Including A Return To The NFL, But Judge Seeks Specifics




(AP) Fallen NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy judge Friday that he became a changed man in prison and is determined to do all the right things upon his release from prison, including repaying his creditors with the millions he hopes to resume earning in professional football.

But after more than three hours of testimony in which Vick laid out what he called his "exit strategy," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro rejected it. Santoro told Vick to draft a new Chapter 11 plan, one with a bit more certainty.

Santoro said there is no guarantee the league will have the 28-year-old player back, and suggested he start on a new plan by considering liquidating one or both of his Virginia homes and three cars he had planned to keep.

A status hearing is set for April 28, but Santoro set no deadline for submission of a new plan.

Vick is pinning his hopes of emerging from financial ruin on returning to the NFL. He remains indefinitely suspended, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not said whether he will reinstate Vick after his July release from the federal penitentiary in Kansas where he is serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.

Vick's testimony - his first extensive public account of his life since entering prison in November 2007 - offered a glimpse of what he's likely to tell Goodell in his bid for reinstatement.

"I can't live like the old Mike Vick," he said, speaking softly as many of his friends and family members listened in the courtroom.

One of his lawyers, Peter Ginsberg, asked Vick about a note he recently wrote in prison saying he was in good spirits.

"I'm happy where I am because I'm going in a totally different direction," Vick said.

He said his plans include marrying his fiancee next summer and working a $10-an-hour construction job as part of his probation until he can resume his football career.

Vick was once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, but lavish spending and poor investments, coupled with the backlash from his dogfighting case, led to his downfall. Vick filed for bankruptcy in July claiming assets of $16 million and debts of more than $20 million.

Santoro asked Vick about the likelihood of Goodell lifting the suspension. He said he can only hope that "if I do the right thing - if I keep showing I'm remorseful, show true remorse," the commissioner will give him a second chance. He also told the judge that he thinks he could play in the NFL another 10 to 12 years if reinstated.

Link & entire: Judge Rejects Michael Vick Bankruptcy Plan - CBS News

Originally Posted by Milkman

Should he be reinstated in the future?

Tough call. He has done his time so maybe he should be allowed to earn a living at what he is best at. On the other hand, athletes gain fortune partly because of their "celebrity" and in turn are often look upon as role models for the young. Not sure I would want him as a role model.

If pushed on a decision, reckon I would say reinstate him but keep him on a short lease. No dog fighting pun intended.

We should be examing the 'real crime'. Those whom make millions per year for playing a game. In our delusion world of being compensated for your value and worth, professional athletes come up short. Hasn't really been sport nor entertainment for some time now.....mega-corporations that sucker our participation into fanship. These realities could easily apply to how we view 'celebrity-dom'. Do you really look up to some grossly overpaid sporto or film actor or politician? Whores for the establishment. And sadly, we're so easily taken in by all this shite.

He did the time, so he should be allowed to pursue his career... Whether anyone hires him or not is another story...

Regardless of whether he is reinstated by the Atlanta Falcons or goes to another team, he will be in trouble and broke once again in the near future... His origins are trash and he & his family have done nothing to better themselves with the $$$ he has earned in the past by virtue of his talent... Trash is trash is trash...

Vick played QB for my Alma Mater in the states... He was constantly in trouble with the school & team during his time there... His brother followed in his footsteps and did no better...

I think based up the current situation and recent past the NFl should let him play. Partly because he did his time, and now should be allowed to earn a living.

That being said I would not have a problem with the NFL or other pro sports getting tough on players to try and protect the image of the league. But if they are going to get tough they need to annouce it well in advance, and then once the time comes crack down heavy and with no exceptions. IMHO the in the past most leagues have been too inconsistent on this issue. The leagues need to go all in, or stay out of players personal lives.