(Updated at 4:13 p.m. 7-27) NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Vick was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
on Monday and could play in regular-season games as early as October.
Vick can immediately participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final
two preseason games — if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they
would not.
"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," Goodell said in a letter to
Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate
yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."
Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted
bankrolling the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting operation. Goodell said then that Vick must
show remorse and signs that he has changed before he would consider reinstating him.
"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and
that you intend to be a positive role model for others," Goodell added. "I am prepared to
offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."
Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he
would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).
Goodell called a news conference for late Monday afternoon.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to commissioner Goodell for allowing
me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said through agent Joel Segal. "I
fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful
for the opportunity I have been given.
"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an
individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I
must lead moving forward.
"Again, I want to thank the commissioner for the chance to return to the game I love and the
opportunity to become an example of positive change."
The announcement came after a busy first week of freedom for Vick, who met with union leaders and Goodell
on consecutive days last week. His 23-month federal sentence ended when an electronic monitor was
removed from his ankle early on July 20 at his home in Hampton, Va.
He met with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, last Tuesday and, on
Wednesday, he sat down with Goodell at a security firm in Allendale, N.J.
But his issues are far from over. Already, the owners of the New York Giants and New York Jets said they
have no interest in the 29-year-old quarterback, who once was the league’s highest-paid player.
Vick needs to find a team so he can get himself out of financial ruin. He filed for bankruptcy protection
last July, listing assets of about $16 million and debts of more than $20 million, and has a hearing
about his plan to repay his creditors on Friday in Norfolk, Va. That plan is built around his ability to
make NFL-type money again.
He’s unlikely to command anything close to the 10-year, $130 million contract he once had with the
Falcons, or to get endorsement deals after the grisly details of his involvement in the dogfighting
ring.
Vick finally pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick
participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging,
drowning or slamming them to the ground.
Vick’s appearances at federal court in Richmond, Va., all came with large groups of protestors outside.
Many were with PETA and held signs depicting photographs of Pit Bulls ravaged in dogfights and decrying
the brutality in the gruesome details that emerged in the case.
A smaller group came to show support for Vick wearing jerseys with his No. 7.
Vick has already taken some steps to begin rebuilding his image and showing remorse.
He met with the president of the Humane Society of the United States while serving the first 18 months of
his federal sentence in the prison at Leavenworth, Kan. He plans to work with HSUS in a program designed
to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting. He was not permitted to work with the program while in
custody.
"It’s been a long process," Segal said. "He’s thrilled for the opportunity to resume his
playing career. He understands he has a lot to prove."