Originally posted by Khalid

Olberman made the point that we're incredibly forgiving as a society - BUT he needs to come completely clean and show real contrition for that to kick in. It ain't going to happen as long as he's more focused on his future job than on being straight now
I can't believe I didn't see this until now. As usual, Olberman is completely wrong and clueless about the real world. People implicitly understand at a basic level that when someone is fighting to save their life, their career, and to stay out of jail they are going to focus on that long before they worry about the public's opinion. In fact, it is more creepy to have someone facing serious jail time worry about their image instead. But since Olberman is a clueless idiot, he doesn't understand this.

As for what drew me back to this thread:

Apologetic Vick gets 23-month sentence on dogfighting charges

Good behavior could reduce it to 20 months, and there is no parole in the federal system according to the article.

And here is speculation about him playing again.

If Olberman is one of the most clueless morons in the world of political/social news, Clayton has to be one of the most undeservingly over-respected writers in sports. I actually keep a meta thread about his idiocy here just for that purpose.

He leans towards this ending his career, even if Vick gets out in May 2009. The only way this ends his career is if:

1) He does crazy shit in prison and gets killed or something similarly bad.

2) Goodell decides to go hard line and ban him from the league.

Otherwise, he can return at the age of 29, and he'll be a young 29 since 2-3 of those years he would not have had the punishment of playing in the NFL.

To play in the NFL, a player must train year-round to be ready for the league's physical and mental rigors. Offseason programs for teams begin in March and are intense. Vick will be outside that system for too long. Prison doesn't offer the resources teams can provide to maintain what it takes to compete in the NFL.
Get real, John. If he goes to a "nice" prison with workout facilities, he can very easily stay in great shape. Herschel Walker was one of the most fit athletes in NFL history and he did it almost entirely from running, isometrics, situps, and pushups. He didn't get into weight lifting, and he was huge, strong, and had a LONG career.

If Vick is hungry enough, he can stay in tip top shape in prison. Many athletes have done it. The reality is that many pro athletes don't work that hard during significant portions of the year. Coaches and owners have a hell of a time motivating their players to actually stay in shape in the off season. If Vick works hard during his time in prison, he'll be fine physically.

The whole issue comes down to:

1) Does Michael Vick want to play again badly enough.

2) Will Roger Goodell let him.

All the other crap in Clayton's article is bullshit.

There are sucky QBs in the league right now who are playing after multiple years out of the NFL and they were never as good as Vick to begin with.