Will Michael Vick Ever Return to the NFL?

Ten seconds are left on the clock, the quarterback takes the snap, drops back, and runs into the end zone and celebrates with his teammates. Michael Vick had just won the game for his team, something that came easily to Vick even in his college days.

Nowadays Vick is sitting in a jail cell, and the real question is, will Vick ever play in the NFL again?

Vick grew up in Newport News, Va., a rough area where you always had to watch your back and never knew what to expect. In a newspaper article posted by the Richmond-Times Dispatch, local people in Newport News said that drug dealers, drive-by shootings, and random killers were expected every day of the week.

Vick's father, Michael Boddie, knew that Vick had athletic ability even at an early age. Vick was nicknamed "Ookie," which will come into this story a little bit latter. Vick played at a Boys and Girls Club to stay off the streets.

After a highly talked-about high school career, Vick decided to attend Virginia Tech, and play football for the Hokies. Vick left VT after his redshirted sophomore season and was quoted saying, "My mom needs a new car and house, she needs the money." Vick did indeed buy these items for his mom after signing with the Atlanta Falcons with the first overall pick of the 2001 draft.

Vick came into the league with much speculation that he would be the franchise boy for the Falcons and lead them to the playoffs and most importantly, the Super Bowl. In 2002, Vick went to the Pro Bowl, his first of three, and the Falcons went to the playoffs but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.

The press was attracted to Vick and couldn't stop writing about him, and it showed in the number of endorsements he had gained. Coca-Cola, Nike, and EA Sports were only a few of the companies that jumped onto the Vick bandwagon and thought he would increase sales of their current products.

Then 2007 came around and the foundation of the Falcons locker room shook. An ESPN report posted on its Web site claimed that they had interviewed somebody who knew somebody in the sports world who was a dog fighter. His name was Michael Vick and he was the franchise.

Now, Vick didn't just fight random dogs—he raised them. Authorities raided Vick's home in Virginia and found a total of 66 dogs, a dog-fighting pit, and items that were typically linked to dog fighting. No charges had been filed but speculation arose about what these items were doing at Vick's house.

In July 2007, Vick was indicted by a grand jury in a dog-fighting probe. Investigators found that when a dog lost, Vick would let them die in the fight pit, drown them, electrocute them, hang them, or shoot them because they lost their match—and Vick's money.

The indictment noted several key elements of the case:

-In 2003, Bad Newz Kennelz, Vick's dog-fighting group, killed a dog by wetting it and then electrocuting it because it lost in an earlier fight.

-In March 2003, after two Bad Newz Kennels dogs lost fights to dogs owned by a witness in the investigation, it is said that Vick gave the man a bag filled with $23,000, and one of the fights had a purse of $20,000.

-Vick used the name Ookie, which was the nickname given to him by his father as a child. Unable to use his real name, whenever he participated in dog fights, he would go by Ookie, hoping that nobody would recognize him.

After this report was released, Vick was suspended by the NFL with no pay until further notice. Vick was suspended not only for the dog-fighting portion of the story, but also because he was gambling, which goes against the NFL's policies.

It was reported that in 2004, when Vick re-signed with the Falcons, that he had used money from his signing bonus to pay for the dog-fighting equipment. The Falcons demanded that Vick reimburse them for their troubles, and $20 million was sent back to them.

Vick's sentence is set to end this summer, in July. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, said that he would think about reinstating Vick, but only after he finished his prison sentence. Arthur Blank, the Falcons team owner, said that he would like to see Vick play in the NFL again, just not for the Falcons.

The United Football League, an upcoming football league, has said there is a "98 percent" chance that Vick will come to play for them. I think that if Vick went there, this would give Goodell a chance to see if Vick has really changed, and if any legal incidents happen during his time there, he should face another suspension from the league.

Vick seems to have his followers and but it is still too early to tell if he has indeed changed or if he still the man who violently killed dogs after losing. Animal Rights industries would never want to see Vick back in the league, and it seems like any team that wants him will have to face the backlash that comes with signing him.

Although it is up to Goodell to determine if Vick will return, I want to hear what you guys have to say. Do you think Vick will ever return and what else do you think of the situation?