Michael Vick was released on March 20, 2009 after serving 21 months in jail. Vick plead guilty in August of 2007 to a federal charge of bank rolling a dog fight operation in his Virginia home. In December 2007, he was sentenced to serve a 23 month federal prison term; 3 years of prison time in Virginia on other charges was suspended upon condition of good behavior. With loss of his substantial NFL and product endorsement income, Vick filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy protection in July 2008, with liabilities of $20.5 million and assets of $16 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro said the plan requested up to $1 million in cash to paid to creditors but did not believe Vick could immediately produce that amount of money in a short amount of time. Santoro suggested that Vick should do away with two houses and three cars he intended to keep in the rejected proposal.

According to CNN, Vick’s sports agent, who negotiated his $140 million contract with the Falcons, believes the athlete will resume his professional football career as soon as September upon a pending NFL reinstatement. On the contrary, the athlete’s attorneys say he will make a living at the Newport News construction firm immediately after his release and that he has also consented to take part in a documentary film for $600,000. Vick’s part in the dog fighting scandal was huge. The dog fighting operation was named “Bad Newz Kennels,” according to the indictment, and the dogs were housed, trained and fought at a Surry County, Virginia property owned by Vick. He would run the fights and fund them.

What Michael Vick did was pretty sick and unforgivable. However not everyone grew up in the type of environment as he did, I’m not justifying his actions. Dog fighting has unfortunately been around for hundreds of years and hasn’t been stopped. What happened with Michael Vick was terrible but something positive may come out of this. After his release, Vick plans to work with the Humane Society of the United States in a anti-dog fighting campaign to raise awareness among young people about the blood sport, in addition to mentoring those who have already participated dog fights. Vick may have a strong influence on young people and can help them avoid getting into those types of situations. LaDainian Tomlinson, an elite running back and an excellent role model, has attended dog fights before, claiming that it’s a normal thing in Texas. When someone grows up in an environment like that, it’s hard to know different or to not attend an event like that. Vick can have a huge effect on youngsters and even adults that may consider taking part in the bloodsport.

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