ISSUE: Michael Vick case

OUR VIEW: Decision on quarterback's future not a public opinion poll

Nearly everyone has an opinion on the Michael Vick case. And that's really all you have to call it: "the Michael Vick case."

Until his federal indictment in connection with a dog-fighting operation, Vick was among the highest-paid professional athletes. The Atlanta Falcons' quarterback is also among the best-known athletes. His name is more recognizable than those of many of the nation's leading public figures, particularly to young people.

Vick's status as a professional athlete and public figure put him on a pedestal -- one from which has summarily fallen. That this athlete would be the driving force behind illegal dog fighting and engage in acts of animal cruelty that do not need restating here have permanently injured his reputation and career.

Critics say he should be jailed and banished from professional sports -- or worse.

Supporters, such as the sign-carrying man outside the courthouse during Monday's Vick guilty plea, quote the Bible in stating the person without sin should cast the first stone.

Vick's admission of guilt in such a distasteful case highlights again the seemingly endless cycle of problems with professional athletes. Some go so far as to say that sports reporters now have to know as much about the crime beat as sports.

While athletes are responsible for their actions, and should be, as is everyone, there is a need for perspective. We as a society have helped make them arrogant with an air of invincibility by the nature of the way we hold them up as idols. And they are paid ridiculous sums of money -- another factor in transforming the athlete into a "player" of another type.

Vick is being judged by the federal courts. His punishment under the law will see him go to jail to pay a price for his crimes. Beyond that, the National Football League will have to decide whether he ever plays again.

Press and public should maintain perspective. Our judicial system provides that a person pay the price for a crime and then return to society. On a higher plain, the Christian faith that undergirds our system calls for forgiveness. Vick will be out of jail in a year. He will pay the price in many ways, but will he be forgiven?

Forget whether his apology on Monday was heart-felt as some observers have stated. At the minimum, it was impressive.

What happens to Vick after he pays his debt to society should not be a rush to judgment.

Longtime civil rights leader Jim Sulton wrote (T&D letters, Aug. 28) that he does not understand how anyone can readily defend Vick and make a judgment now about what should and should not happen with him in the future.

He noted that the NFL has hired a special investigator to consider the matter before making a call on the athlete's career. That is as it should be. While Vick's career will never be the same, there should be no hasty decision as to whether it is over.

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