MICHAEL VICK MUST GO

I tried to accept the decision to add Michael Vick to the Eagles roster. I believe that people deserve a second chance in life provided they are sorry for their actions and try to make amends. I wanted to believe that Michael Vick had met those terms. The Eagles management asked me to believe that those conditions had been met. I wanted to give him the chance. So I decided to continue to follow the Eagles last season, although my enthusiasm was muted and did not feel the same as prior years.
Giving him the chance created great inner turmoil for me. Michael Vick's crimes were morally reprehensible. Animals are helpless creatures that rely on human trust for survival. You have to come from a cold world to be able to separate from the compassion that an animal's helplessness should evoke . The fact that he could direct his rage at helpless creatures without feeling sadness is a psychological disconnect that makes him a scary man. If he was really sorry, then he would do the work it takes to join his anger with his sadness. I watched to see if that occurred.
I began to get worried at his first press conference. I never felt the sadness that his words were supposed to portray. I only saw a few public appearances to stand up against animal abuse. As the season wore on, so did his commitment to animal rights. The sadness that would drive him to right a wrong just never seemed to be there. The passion to right his wrongs never surfaced.
Then, this past month, we get the story of his birthday parties at his hometown in Virginia. Something seemed really wrong about them to me. He seemed to use his birthday as a means to raise money to pay his debts. He used his fame to lure people to parties rather than hard work as the rest of us must do. And nowhere did I hear that he was donating part of the proceeds to prevent dog fighting or animal abuse. Is it little wonder that one of his co-conspirators would end up turning on him? As the story unfolds, Michael Vick lost his temper and had to be restrained right before the shooting took place. Once again, his rage takes over, and the humbleness and rightful purpose of reparation for his prior misdeeds is nowhere to be found. In short, he has learned nothing.
When first offered a contract, the Eagles said that there would be zero tolerance for any future behavior. This recent act goes way beyond zero tolerance. On a psychological level, it is a repetition of the splitting of his anger from his sadness that opened the door to his crimes. I hope that Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League, permanently bars him from football for life. I believe it is what he deserves.
The Eagles should be the first to make that decision. I understand that legally it is in their best interest to wait for the league to act to activate the clauses in his contract. If the Eagles do not act, then I believe that the decision is motivated by Andy Reid's guilt over his son's own criminal activities. He may be trying to help Vick in the same way he would hope somebody might do for his own sons. If he dismisses Vick, he would be making the type of judgment that somebody else might render on his own children. A decision about Michael Vick should be made on values and morals, not on the relief of parental guilt. Eagles fans and the world deserve better.