National Football League

Mike Vick speaks about Ray Rice situation: 'Everybody deserves a second chance'

Published Sep. 11, 2014 4:30 p.m. ET

James Parziale

Ray Rice has dominated the NFL world this week. His release from the Ravens, and his suspension from the NFL following the leak of a gruesome video clip where he is seen knocking out his girlfriend in a casino elevator have overshadowed all else.

While the Rice firestorm is still fresh, some have wondered if the tainted former Ravens running back will get a second chance. There have been multiple players who have been let back in after serious off-the-field gaffes -- Leonard Little, Lawrence Phillips, Ricky Williams, are a few that come to mind.

Most notably, however, has to be Mike Vick. A similar public furor broke out when Vick ended up spending 18 months in jail on charges stemming from dog fighting. He returned to the league in 2009 with the Eagles.

On Wednesday, Vick was asked about Rice, and here is some of what he told Newsday:

"Honestly, I think everybody deserves a second chance. Everybody . . . But there's going to be a grace period and we all just have to sit back and reflect on what's been done. Ray Rice is a great football player, but I think there's some things he has to work on, some issues he has to deal with."

On how his own situation compared to that of Rice:

"This one is tough. I think what I did doesn't compare to what this case is and what came out of this. It's just a situation where men have to understand that we're men. Women are a lot smaller and not as physical as us. We just have to think before we react. It's not man-on-man. It's man-on-woman and that's unfair.

"It's just as bad. I won't compare dogs to humans in this situation. But you're talking about a man putting his hands on a woman, so it's a totally different realm. You're not talking about somebody abusing an animal. You're talking about a man abusing a woman."

On drawing comparisons to Rice in the first place:

"Yeah, once again, I'm being used as a prime example. But that's cool though. It's cool, it's all right. You can set the guidelines based on my situation. Obviously, everything is not going to be to that magnitude, maybe worse, maybe a bit more easier to deal with. I just think it all depends on the crime that's been committed."

Vick said he plans to reach out to Rice.