How Michael Vic Could Begin to Redeem Himself

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kate_Garvey]Kate Garvey

On August 20th, 2007, Michael Vic confessed to his involvement with dog fighting. Defense attorney, Billy Martin states, "Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made,"� "Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter." Most likely Michael Vic will pay a fine close to $250,000 and spend 12 to 18 months in jail.

To an NFL player, $250,000 is probably the equivalent of a speeding ticket or minor traffic violation for an average American household. If he really wanted to accept responsibility for his action he would sell every possession he owns and donate all of his money it to animal shelters and legal defense funds for animals. He would spend the rest of his life working to helping others see the errors of his ways, and he would volunteer his time and energy at shelters, and when and if he ever received another endorsement, he would turn that money over as well. Additionally, he would contact every corporate entity that sought his endorsement and beg them to donate to animal rights organizations such as the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society of America and the ASPCA�or have them as their next endorsement.

The NFL could gain respect by requiring any player found guilty (or someone who pleads guilty) to animal abuse, child abuse or spousal abuse forever be banned from the game. Granted none of these actions would restore the many innocent lives that were taken, diminish the horrendous abuse he caused, or bring back the dogs that he strangled or drowned (at least eight were killed execution style), but it would be much more noble than a measly $250,000 and one year of his life.

For a free copy on Ways to Prevent Animal Abuse, please visit http://www.PetCareRCA.com. Kate Garvery is the founder and director of the Pet Care Resource Center of America. She is also a freelance writer and provides professional writing services for individuals and business owners http://www.kategarvey.net. Kate is the author of 3 non-fiction books and more than 40 non-fiction articles.