Michael Vick should be banned for life from NFL – George Dohrmann – SI.com

I have a lot of issues with the NFL’s attitude towards players who commit crimes or other actions of which the NFL disapproves.

I agree that what Vick did was horrendous. It is unthinkable to me that any human being could torture and kill animals for recreation (though for some reason shooting animals for entertainment is still acceptable).

That being said, the United States has a legal system. Michael Vick has been judge and punished for his actions by that legal system. If we disagree with the severity (or lack there of) of his punishment, then the issue is with the legal system. Vick has been sentenced. He is serving the terms of his sentence.

What right, then, does the NFL have to impose further punishment on him? Why does the NFL have the right to do what other employers can not?

Say I am a developer, a consultant, or a journalist, and I commit some crime not related to my profession – say DUI, drug possession, jay walking, animal cruelty, whatever – and I am held accountable by the legal system. My actions do not affect my ability to do my job. Would it then be appropriate for my employer to impose a suspension on me? To levy an additional fine? To tell me I am no longer allowed to work in my field?

Then why does the NFL have the right to impose its will, it opinion above and beyond the legal system?