[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/21/vick.getty.art.jpg caption="Michael Vick was released from a federal prison on Wednesday. File photo."]
From CNN's Carol Costello and Ronni Berke
Does Michael Vick deserve a second chance? The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback's agent says the National Football League could reinstate Vick by September - but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the NFL won't do that until Vick shows "genuine remorse."
The problem is no one knows what that means. And the NFL isn't saying.
But there are some who say Vick has already paid his dues, and deserves another shot at a 140-million dollar contract. Others say even humiliation, prison, and 3.7 million dollars-plus in legal fees are not nearly enough.
At Atlanta's sports radio "790 The Zone," football fans who once revered Vick called in to say he's paid his dues. After all, they say, the quarterback did show remorse before he went to prison for 21 months.
In August, 2007, Vick appeared at a press conference and announced "...I want to apologize for all things that I've done."
But for the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - or PETA – Vick's apologies don't add up to "genuine remorse." PETA wants Vick to undergo a brain scan–to see if he's capable of remorse.
PETA spokesperson Dan Shannon says his group believes Vick "has lost the privilege of having his remorse, if he does choose to express it, taken at face value and we feel that we do need to see some evidence that he's capable of it and that he's genuine before it can be taken seriously."
That argument fell flat with 790's "Mayhem in the A.M.," co-host Steak Shapiro. "With what authority does PETA have to ask him to take a brain scan? You know, you have guys busted on coke, vehicular homicide, domestic abuse, they get in front of the commissioner, nobody is taking a brain scan to Roger Goodell to show the authenticity of their remorse, and Michael Vick ain't doing it either so that whole notion is preposterous."
Not to mention the fact that the NFL has re-instated lawbreakers before.
In 2000, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to "obstruction of justice" in a murder case. In 2005, running back Jamal Lewis went to prison on drug charges. Both are now NFL superstars. Despite those cases, some say redemption in the court of public opinion could be tough for Michael Vick.
"I don't know if it's hypocrisy, but it certainly seems as if Michael Vick's been targeted as the greatest villan around," says Michael McCann, legal contributor for Sports Illustrated.