There’s a petition on Change.org nearing 500,000 signatures as of Monday morning, titled “Do not allow Michael Vick to be honored in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl.”

The gist is that Vick was named a “Legends captain” for the game, alongside Terrell Davis, Darrell Green, and Bruce Smith. They’re going to serve as mentors of sorts for the players while running one of the team’s offensive or defensive units.

Some people don’t want Vick to be honored because of the dog-killing episode, hence this blurb on the petition page:

“Just saw this on Facebook and was absolutely disgusted.  When is the NFL going to take any responsibility for the behavior of it’s current and former players?  To honor a man who had zero regard for animals is unacceptable and I would like your help to make sure he is NOT honored at the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl.”

Right, so listen; Michael Vick spent 21 months in jail and lost all of his money, accepting the punishment he was given and serving his sentence. He expressed remorse, asked for forgiveness, and subsequently did a lot of work both public and private to change himself. He filmed PSAs and spoke at schools and anti-dog fighting forums. He backed anti-animal cruelty legislation and did community work during his time with the Eagles.

No, that doesn’t wash away the crimes he committed, nor does it diminish the horrors of the hangings and drownings and electrocutions committed at Bad Newz Kennels more than 10 years ago, but this is a question of whether or not we as a society can accept the fact that he’s a changed man and has done quite a bit to turn his life around. Are we good enough to offer forgiveness, or not? We should be, because everyone deserves a second chance. He took that opportunity and did the most with it, both on and off the field.

This line of thinking is especially true for animal lovers and people who have adopted and/or rescued dogs and cats. If we can’t extend the compassion we’ve shown to our pets to somebody who has reformed himself and tried honestly to make a difference, then what does it say about us? It says we’re hypocrites, because we should be at the forefront of any action deemed benevolent.

You can still be mad about what he did 12 years ago while understanding that Michael Vick is not the same person in 2019.