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Ok so this Michael Vick situation is getting out of hand.  Sure he made a horrible mistake in judgment for financing a dog fighting ring but he has since served a 23 month sentence and is now ready to move forward with his life.  Why can’t others get beyond his mistakes?   On Monday NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally reinstated Vick in which he is free to sign with a team and could be playing in the NFL by week six.  It sounds really simple but the problem is most teams are too afraid to take a chance.  Signing Vick would bring a whole lot of negative publicity and the way the economy is right now, no one is willing to take a gamble on him.  Sure he’s a great player and this is what most teams are forgetting—his past performances.  If you want to win, then this is a no brainer, he has a lot to offer any team and certainly there are few teams struggling and should consider the gain instead of the risk—I’m speaking to Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins.  Fans of the Washington Redskins put much faith into the roster every season only to be upset by the poor personnel decisions of the organization’s front office as well as the poor decisions on the field come game day.  Jason Campbell is young and certainly has promise but how much longer do we have to wait until he develops into something great.  Sure, teams take time to gel so we can excuse last season but this year he has to bring his A-game or he won’t be around long enough for us to see him blossom into something great.  I think the Redskins fans would welcome Michael Vick with open arms if it means being a possible playoff contender.  People make mistakes, the difference with Michael Vick is that he made a mistake and he’s a public figure so why not make an example out of him.  He’s done his time, now let’s allow him to do something that he loves and is very passionate about—football.  Football is his livelihood and just like any individual who’s made mistakes in the past, we must let him come back into society, repent for what he’s done, make improvements in his life to ensure that it never happens again and be gainfully employed so that he could support his family--this is something we should not take away from him.  Michael Vick is a veteran player who has something to prove to his critics, naysayers and the teams who think he’s too much of a risk.  He is unequivocally one of the greatest quarterbacks around and with so much free time on his hands, I’m quite sure he’s physically and mentally prepared himself for the season.   So I say to the teams who are afraid of ruining its image just wait and see the best is yet to come for Michael Vick.

Karen “Skye” Walker