After abhorrent surveillance video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was leaked earlier this week, showing him knocking out his then-fiancee before dragging her out of a casino elevator by the hair while she was unconscious, Rice's career aspirations were seemingly dashed by the severity of his actions.
However, despite his subsequent release and indefinite ban from competing with an NFL team, some colleagues of Ray Rice have come out and displayed a measure of sympathy for the now-exiled halfback.
This includes New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick, who faced similar uproar after charges stemming from a dogfighting ring landed in him in jail for 18 months several years back.
On Wednesday, Newsday asked Michael Vick his thoughts on Ray Rice and here's some of his response.
Courtesy of James Parziale of FOX Sports:
"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."
Vick was also asked about his own past troubles in relation to Rice's current situation:
"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."
Finally, Vick commented on the fact that his name has been brought up in public conversations in comparison to Rice's actions:
"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 also indicated to Newsday that he plans to reach out to Rice at some point.