The Madden NFL 2012 Cover Dilemma

Later today, on the ESPN2 show SportsNation, the hosts will announce which player is to be on the cover of this years Madden video game. That player is going to be Michael Vick. He has been running away with the tournament-style fan voting that started last month. PETA asked EA, the producers of the game, to remove Vick as a candidate. EA refused. Their director of player relations, Sandy Sandoval, said in an interview with ESPN, "It's a video game, a football game. We're not trying to make any political statements." Sandoval added that EA is sensitive to the issues raised.

If one thinks that Michael Vick should not be allowed to be on the cover of the Madden video game, then they must also think he should be banned from the National Football League as a player, on grounds that he is not fit to be employed by or be a representative of the league at any level because of his criminal history. However, any free male citizen of the United States is allowed to join a professional football team.

There is an overwhelming opinion in our society that rehabilitation through the prison system is an impossibility. There is also the general feeling that if someone is on your television then they are actually in your living room with you. The problem - at this point - with the anti-Vick position, is that the other option is remarkable in only one way: he's a white running back. Vick was the runner-up for the MVP award last year (voted by 50 of the best sports-journalists and broadcasters for the Associated Press) and received 1.5 million pro-bowl votes, Hillis had the 11th most rushing yards in the NFL, 3rd in his division.

Now, what do these players really represent?