by Brian Pears

Created on: September 17, 2009

The fascinating thing about Michael Vick's crime is that reactions to it cut across so many different demographic segments of our society. Despite having been the highest paid quarterback in the National Football League and one of its most recognizable faces among younger fans, one can only assume that a great many people who have strong opinions about Vick likely hadn't heard of him before his arrest and conviction. So, Vick's fame, powerful but localized within the football fan community, quickly became infamous, and as such made him a household name.

With all that said, and while still paying great respect to each individual's opinion about Vick, the inexactness of the question asked in the title must be addressed. Only a very few of us in society may truly decide whether Michael Vick deserves a second chance. From a legal standpoint, he was granted a "second chance," so to speak, by successfully fulfilling the terms of his incarceration. From a business standpoint, he has been granted another chance by the NFL, a cartel tight enough to have its commissioner make the decision to allow its teams to hire a convicted felon. So, like it or not, Vick has been given a second chance, and outside of the legal system or Vick's professional association, no one's opinion will change that.

However, the essence of this topic, and a much more interesting question to boot, is: has the price Michael Vick has paid - legally, financially, reputationally - been sufficient for society to welcome him back fully? Colloquially, we may speak of society's willingness to "forgive" him, but forgiveness is an individual decision. The concept of a societal re-welcoming is broader, deeper, and less personal than individual forgiveness.

Like forgiveness, the determination as to whether Vick has paid enough dues is an individual one, but unlike forgiveness, we can measure society's opinion through proxies. Measuring the number of protests against Vick, and gauging the number of protestors and their level of anger, is one place to start. To that point, I'd like to see whether the number, size, and vehemence of protests waxes or wanes with time. A weakening in that sort of public outcry would imply some acceptance back into society.

Also, we can use the television ratings of his games (not the physical attendance at them, as nearly NFL game sells out every week) as a measure. If the ratings start higher than average for Philadelphia Eagles' games, especially those in which he might

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