By Nils Lofgren

An open letter to the men and women of the sports reporting community,

I am so disheartened and disappointed by your collective, lopsided praise of Michael Vick due to his recent spectacular on-field performance.

Jemele Hill stated on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” that if Josh Hamilton could win one of baseball’s MVP awards after recovering from alcohol and drug abuse, why couldn’t Vick win the award in the NFL? Well, for one thing, Hamilton has neither tortured dozens of dogs nor murdered defenseless animals.

I do not know what is in Michael Vick’s head or heart. But in a recent ESPN interview, and elsewhere, he stated that while he was committing these heinous acts of cruelty, it never occurred to him that he was doing anything wrong.

What a chilling, telling statement.

In Vick’s case, I believe his second chance should certainly allow him to be free and to love and raise his family. I think he should make speeches about the error of his ways and help animal groups. I understand that he is doing some of these things and I applaud that. He’s also admitted to being haunted by his dogfighting days. That growth is welcome and necessary, but comes too late for me and those dogs.

I support his right to earn a living. But, while I can’t fault him for taking great advantage of the opportunities afforded him by playing in the NFL, I feel he does not deserve that lofty a place in our society and culture. However repentant he may be, he committed acts whose vileness will resonate down the years. When you do what Vick did, a second chance should never include the rare gift of an NFL career and the potential bounty it offers.

Shame on the NFL for not banning him permanently.

How can we justify this saga to our children?

The fighting is bad enough. But when the dogs aren’t up to their standards of violence, they’ll beat the dogs against walls until they’re dead, hang, electrocute or drown them.

And if the schedule is too busy for torture that day, they’ll just shoot them dead as the poor dogs gaze desperately into their eyes for just one moment of love or kindness. But love is one thing those dogs are forever and viciously denied.

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