Commissioner Says Vick Deserves Opportunity to Prove Himself

Michael Vick's conditional reinstatement into the NFL was not a decision Roger Goodell made lightly, the powerful league commissioner conceded Monday. He understands there are many who believe the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, now a convicted felon, does not deserve to wear an NFL uniform again after serving 23 months under federal custody for his role in an illegal dogfighting and gambling operation.

"First off, I understand that position. What Michael did was cruel and horrific, and we recognize that, of course, and I believe Michael recognizes that,'' Goodell said Monday in a conference call explaining his decision to consider fully reinstating the disgraced Vick by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).

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Goodell said he only reached this decision on Sunday, a conditional reinstatement plan that will allow Vick to immediately participate in preseason practices, workouts and team meetings and will allow him to play in the final two preseason games. That is, of course, if Vick can find a team to sign him.

Vick was suspended indefinitely by Goodell in August 2007 after the player's central role in the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting operation became known. So far, no NFL team has come forward and expressed interest in signing Vick.


"I recognized when I got into this process that I was not going to make everybody happy with my decision, and I had to do what I felt was right,'' Goodell said, "I took this process very seriously. It was extremely thorough. And I had to reach a conclusion that I felt was proper and fair.

"But I do recognize that some will never forgive him for what he did. But I hope that the public will have a chance to understand his position, as I have."

How did Goodell base this decision? A spiritual belief about forgiveness?

"I hope it was based on fairness,'' Goodell said. "On the ability to understand a young man and the position that he's in. I'm a believer personally, and it probably falls over in my decision making, that if somebody recognizes either mistakes or poor judgment or things that they can do better going forward, that the general public will recognize that and give people an opportunity to prove themselves.

"That's what I'm trying to do, to give Michael an opportunity to prove to me and others that he deserves the opportunity to play in the NFL again."

Goodell's reinstatement meeting with Vick requires the player to prove several things to the commissioner before he will be fully reinstated into the NFL:

• Vick, who remains on probation for his crimes, must comply with all terms of his supervised release from federal custody, which include not committing any further crime, limits on who he may associate with, prohibitions against alcohol and drug use and possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon.

• He is forbidden to own, possess or be involved with the sale of any dog.

• Vick must submit a written plan to Goodell detailing his living arrangements, how he will manage his finances, how he will participate in counseling and mentoring plans.

As part of this arrangement, Goodell asked former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy to work with Vick as a formal mentor.


"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," Goodell said in a letter to Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."

Goodell stopped short of calling the Week 6 re-evaluation a five-game regular season suspension.

"First off, it's not a suspension,'' Goodell clarified. "What we've done here is try to structure something that would give him the opportunity to be able to make a successful transition back into the NFL.

"He is going to be facing significant challenges. He has to, one, sign with a team. He has to get re-acclimated into that (NFL) community. He wants to have his family with him, so he has to relocate them. He's going to obviously have to deal with significant public scrutiny.

"He has a lot of challenges and he recognizes that. I have thought about every alternative, but I think this gives him the best chance for success."

What does Goodell need to see from Vick before he can be fully reinstated? Goodell said he laid out the specifics about the life management plan that Vick must adhere to. He also told Vick he must remain in constant contact with the NFL and with Dungy as his formal mentor.

"Tony and Michael and I had a conversation earlier today, the three of us,'' Goodell said of the plan outlined to Vick verbally and in writing on Monday. "And I will hold him accountable for every aspect of that as we go."

Goodell said he considered a lifetime suspension, among many scenarios, and that he tried to keep an open mind about Vick throughout his incarceration and release. In doing so, Goodell consulted with numerous people as part of his decision-making process -- current and former players and coaches, professionals and leaders in various business and political arenas.

"I try not to formulate any position before I understand all of the facts,'' Goodell said. "There was a process here that I felt we needed to go through and we needed to do some work before Michael was released from jail, while he was serving his in-house penalty and before I had a chance to meet with him.

"I did not come to a final conclusion about what I wanted to do until (Sunday). I would tell you that I probably considered every alternative that I could think of. I reached out to an awful lot of people to get their views -- on not only what was right for the young man, but was right for our society and the NFL."

The reaction from those Goodell consulted was "very mixed,'' he said.

As for critical statements from players such as Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens, who suggested "the commissioner needs to go sit in jail for 23 months" to understand what it feels like to be behind bars -- Goodell brushed that aside.

"I read Terrell's comments briefly,'' the commissioner said, "and I don't have any comment on it."