Should we forgive Michael Vick?

Republished from The Week. Three years ago, Michael Vick was persona non grata in the NFL. Once an electrifying young quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, his stock plummeted when he was indicted, then convicted, for running a dogfighting ring. One day after pleading guilty, Vick "became the first player in NFL history to have sales of his merchandise suspended by the league," with Reebok "taking the unprecedented step of halting the production of Vick's Falcons jerseys." But now, after 19 months in prison and a season as a backup, Vick has vaulted into the starting quarterback position for the Philadelphia Eagles, and is playing some of the best football of his career. With his jerseys selling at a record level, fans seem ready to let bygones be bygones — but should they?

Forgive Vick — don't forget what he did: "I believe in forgiveness," says Gregg Doyel at CBS Sports. But the Michael Vick who "ran for 103 yards against Green Bay and threw for 284 yards against Detroit" is also the Michael Vick who "personally killed seven dogs by hanging or drowning them." Vick deserves his shot at redemption, but it would be wrong to simply "move on" and forget what he did to those dogs.

He's a good redemption story: Surprisingly, Vick has become a "new role model for many of us who have failed and thought that a comeback was almost impossible," says Walter Pavlo at Forbes. A felon is often defined by his crime, but Vick has "fought his way back" to remake his image — and in so doing, he will have a "renewed appreciation for his talents and good fortune that allow him to play football on Sunday afternoons."

To read the full article from The Week magazine, please click on the link "Should we forgive Michael Vick?".