Michael Vick  was released from a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.  He will serve the last two months of his 23-month sentence in home confinement at his Virginia residence.  It is being reported that Vick will work with the Humane Society of the United States on anti-dogfighting campaigns.

It is a given that at some point Vick will seek to re-enter the NFL.  It has been reported that he could return to professional football as soon as September if reinstated by the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  There will be opposition from animal rights groups and animal lovers in general.  I count myself among the animal lovers. Many would even consider me a “radical” animal lover. I am both anti-hunting and horse racing.  Do not however, count me among the opposition to Michael Vick being allowed to again play professional football.

When the time comes, should Roger Goodell find that Vick is in compliance with internal NFL conduct guidelines,  I believe he  should re-instate Vick’s eligibility to play and seek NFL employment under whatever probationary terms he deems appropriate.

Anyone who knows me is probably shocked as hell to read this. I have been active in various animal rights causes and benefits.  I screamed loudest for Vick’s head on a doggie platter and a long prison sentence. I was disappointed when his state sentence ran concurrent with his federal sentence although as an attorney I was expecting just that.

I also do not like Michael Vick.  I think he is a gangster thug.  I admit that I have never met him.  It does not matter.   In my mind it is res ipsa loquitur.  If you abuse animals or take pleasure from watching them abused that is all I need to know.  You are a bad person and a gangster thug.  End of story.

I also believe Michael Vick will  again end up in trouble with the law.  Why?  I believe that anyone who abuses animals or takes pleasure in watching them abused has on a certain level, a sociopath personality.  That person lacks the mental mechanism to understand societal values.  This  moral disconnect will more often than not lead to long term trouble.  You can’t grow a conscience regardless of any explanation for not having one.

With all that being said how could I possibly support Michael Vick?

I support Micheal Vick being allowed to seek employment in the NFL because I respect our justice system and the equality of judgment it is supposed to represent, even if it often does not always work out that way.  Michel Vick was judged.  He is paying his debt born out of that judgment.  Once that happens, our Constitution and justice system mandates that while we can hold opinions, express them and judge him as a person, we can no longer legally judge his act.

I am comfortable enough in my convictions in this area to know that I would never hire someone who did what he did to work for me in any capacity.  You have the right to ask me for a job.  I have the right to say no.  I have the right to bring my moral compass into play in saying no.  You have the right to find someone else to hire you in the same type of job who may view things differently than I do.

Michael Vick is paying his dues to society.  He should not have to pay them again in being denied the right to seek employment.  I know there will be an NFL owner or two who does not view Michael Vick the same way I do. The NFL is too competitive and the margin of error too small.  A team will give him a chance.  I won’t like it.  I however am not society’s moral gatekeeper.  The NFL and individual team owners will decide which way their own compass points.

I will say that whoever hires Michael Vick had better hope that somewhere deep inside himself  he has found the guilt ridden emotions that help shape the human conscience.  If he has not, it is a given that  he will be judged again.

What are you afraid of? Most of us can rattle off things we dream about doing or would simply like to do if only we were not afraid of failure, embarrassment, etc. I am not talking about Fear Factor stuff like eating cockroaches. I am talking about fun things that we know in our gut we would enjoy but the risk of trying versus the risk of perceived consequences if we don’t succeed acts like a brick wall. Things that require us to step outside our “comfort zone”. I am afraid of speaking in public, talking to girls in bars, high places, open water, roller coasters etc. The list is long and distinguished. In any event I attended you could pretty much find me standing with a coke in the corner of the room if I could even muscle up the basic courage just to go. I didn’t even go to my high school prom because I was to shy to ask anyone.

How do we get over these fears? There are really only a few choices. You can spend thousands of dollars on therapy, self help books and seminars. You can also simply get drunk enough before you do it so that “beer bravery” takes over. I know a lot of people who do it that way. They never confront the real life fear but they live on with the comfort that they can manage somehow. They will do it “one day”. The other option is to get off the pot. Take deep breath. Step forward and jump into it. That is exactly what I decided to do when I was approached several months ago to take part in a local charity event that would benefit the cause nearest and dearest to my heart, animal abuse.

Paws In The City an all volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is committed to ending the abuse, neglect, homelessness and overpopulation of dogs and cats through rescue, adoption, awareness, and spay/neuter. Because over 28,000 animals in Dallas were euthanized in 2007, rescue and adoption are only a part of the solution to overpopulation. Educating people of the importance of spaying/neutering their pets is critical to their mission.

What did they ask me to do? They asked me to learn how to dance and perform a dance routine with an instructor from Aurther Murray Dance Studios. They asked me to choose and perform that dance routine in front of 700-1000 people competing against 7 other local celebrity couples in a “Dancing With The Stars” format. YIKES!

I never think of myself as a local celebrity. If “fame by name” qualifies me so be it. When I was initially asked, I wondered how many people they asked before they got to me. I am not even on the “z” list. I am on the waiting list to get on the list to get on the list.

Everyone worked hard to learn their routines. It helped me that I had a great partner in Arthur Murray instructor Nikki Holland. Nikki and I chose the “Lindy Hop” for our routine. We decided to perform to the music of the Brian Setzer Orchestra doing “Put Your Cat Clothes On”.  When the time came to actually perform I was terrified. It is one thing to work hard in a studio in front of a few people. When I entered the empty ball room for my pre-contest walk through, it hit me right there that my comfort zone was breached.

I didn’t win but had a great time as did the other contestants. I received scores of 8, 7.5 and a 6 from the celebrity judges. The 6 having come from Hall of Fame running back turned celebrity dancing judge Tony Dorsett. I must have offended him in some past life. I refuse to accept that it might have been my dancing that was offensive.

I received the expected loaded question from emcee Scott Murray. Did I think I was a better dance than my brother Mark Cuban? I will only say that I was the best “Cuban” on the floor that night!

In the end the end a great time was had by all. Would I do it or something like it again? In a heartbeat! I didn’t win the contest but won the battle with myself in facing on of my greatest fears. We can all “dance with the stars” in so many different areas of life if we are willing to step outside of our comfort zone and know the fear of failure is transient and actually a positive in personal growth if faced head on.