Michael Vick --- Unperson

If the reported plea agreement really happens (it's reported as a done deal by the AP, but from 'anonymous sources', so who knows), then Michael Vick has become an unperson as far as the NFL and general media is concerned. He's done as a public figure, he will never work again in a reputable field (no second life as a studio analyst for him).

What his willingness to enter a guilty plea suggests to me is that there was real evidence beyond the word of his thug friends that he was complicit in their activities (like tapped phone calls, or video).

His barbarity is at a level that the NFL will erase him from the books and ban him for life (though they'll use the gambling admission as the main reason for a lifetime ban), there's no redemption in Michael Vick's case, he can be contrite, and sorry, but he won't be forgiven, at least by the NFL, or by the public at large.

He was an intriguing, frustrating, and erratic talent on the field, and he's demonstrated that off the field he is a poor excuse for a human being with no discernable empathy for anyone but himself.

There is a thug culture that might embrace him as a figure of veneration upon his release from jail, so he might be able to make some cash as a rapper on an independent label, or as a wrestler on a small circuit, but his talent as one of the more sublime athletes of his generation will be wasted.

There is one area that he might be able to explore and remain a competitive athlete (though not nearly as highly paid). Maybe he could become a decathlete. Given how far he can heave a football, he'd likely be spectacular with a javelin and discus given a little training. Likewise, his footspeed is among the tops in the NFL, which suggests he is already world class at the 100m. He'd have to condition himself into having some distance running ability for the 400m and 1500m, but he'll have at least a year to 18 months to work on that (in prison), if the USOC banned him (which they may not have grounds to do so), there's plenty of small nations that would gladly have him be their shot at Olympic glory. Also, despite the evil of his deeds, there are companies that might use him for endorsements precisely because of the distatsteful nature of his actions. But as far as major endorsements, or any team sport or league, he's done. Individual sports that are more popular internationally than they are in the United States are his only option as an athlete once his sentence is served.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him at the 2012 Olympics in London competing under the flag of some small Carribean nation, but as a star athlete or celebrity personality in the United States, he's done, forever.

The "Ron Mexico", flipping off the fans, and water bottle incidents now either seem like small potatoes, or patterns in a disturbing patchwork of ill considered anti-social and stupid behaviors.

It would have been nice if he had a head and heart to go with his amazing athletic talents, but it wasn't meant to be. His skills might have caused those other things to atrophy, or he's just a heartless, idiotic asshole, and would have been so even without the amazing athletic gifts.