Will Michael Vick Experience Race Bias?

Michael Vick, disgraced convicted felon and former starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, has been reinstated to the National Football League by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Vick can immediately participate in some league activities, but he can’t play in NFL regular season games until Goodell grants full reinstatement, which can occur no earlier than October 18.

The problem is Vick has no team. At least four teams have said they definitely won’t hire him. Because of his 23-month federal sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation? He’s black? Both?

It’s unlikely that anyone will play the race card for Vick. Vick not only bankrolled the dogfighting operation, he participated in killing dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning, or slamming them to the ground.

So why even raise the question of race bias? Well, most NFL quarterbacks have always had one thing in common. They’re white. Although this may be hard to imagine, what if, instead of Vick, the convicted felon now reinstated were Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Kurt Warner, or Tony Romo? As difficult as it is to imagine Manning or Brady killing dogs, it’s almost as difficult to imagine a few, maybe several, NFL teams not still being interested in them. Because they’re so talented? They’re white?

Michael Vick was one of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch in NFL history. His crime was despicable. But he’s been reinstated. He’s showing remorse. He’s committed to working with the Humane Society of the United States to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting. If he can prove that no team will give him a second chance in part because he’s black, he has a race discrimination case under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. That’s a big if, but it’s worth thinking about.