At some point, an organization that wants to set an example and attract not only the best athletes, but also athletes that the sponsors can be proud to promote, has to draw the line. Michael Vick did much more than "make a stupid mistake" as you put it. A mistake is forgetting your anniversary or your sons birthday.
What Vick did was conspire over a period of many years (almost 7 years to be exact) to breed, raise, train (using grotesque and unspeakable techniques) dogs to fight each other, usually to the death all for the financial benefit of Vick's personal friends as well as himself to the tune of $20K a fight. That's not a mistake. That's an intentional criminal conspiracy that broke state and federal laws.
To compound matters, Vick and his criminal conspirators, would kill under performing or severely injured dogs by hanging, electrocution, beating and drowning. They didn't do this by mistake, and they didn't do it just once. They killed probably hundreds. Investigators found the remains of 30 dogs on Vick's property, but believed that because of the size of the operation, many dozens more were unaccounted for.
I would invite you to read the 19 page indictment. What the government alleged and Vick pleaded guilty to is the making of a low-budget Hollywood gore movie.
I agree. It’s reprehensible. There is no justification. I think his past actions were revolting and sickening. I understand and have a grasp of the charges that were leveled against him and what he pled to; not because I care, but because the case was a riveting example of how far someone can fall from grace. I also agree with the fact that the NFL needs to choose how they want the organization to be represented. That being said, I stand by my statement that once people pay for their crimes, and he did both confess and show remorse, that they have served their debt to society and paid for their sins. Should I then be judge and jury and exile him for life? If he is the best at his position (which I don’t think he is, but that’s another story), if someone wants him and is willing to hire him, then he deserves another chance at life. Anything less is as inhumane as what he did to those animals.