TUPELO - It's been almost two years since we added Chipper to the family, a decision made with no small amount of thought.

The idea of a puppy sounds really good, but the idea of puppy maintenance - and to whom those responsibilities would fall - gave the home's more seasoned residents some reservations.

That's water under the bridge now. Chipper's been a great addition, though his taste for the nearest television remote has been frustrating at times.

A beagle mix, he has given the family a great deal of affection, and I'd have a hard time seeing him in a puppy mill. I'd also have a hard time seeing him in Michael Vick's dog fighting ring.

Once considered the quarterback of the future, Vick - even though he'll soon be a free man after serving 19 months in prison and now two months of home confinement - may be a quarterback with no future.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hasn't said he'll reinstate Vick. Goodell has only agreed to a hearing once the legal process is complete.

In his movie "Trading Places," comedian Eddie Murphy, playing a poor street hustler, stated, "They way you hurt rich folks is to take away their money."

In that regard Michael Vick continues to suffer beyond incarceration. He faces the real possibility of a court-appointed trustee selling off his assets if he can't satisfy a judge with a plan to repay $25 million to creditors.

Vick bankrolled the dog fighting ring and the indictment against him indicated that his actions directly killed one or more dogs. There's little room for sympathy for Vick, whose calculated actions didn't kill a man, until you consider the case of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth, whose reckless actions did.

Stallworth is serving a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter and reaching a financial settlement with the victim's family. The accident occurred in Miami in March. The terms of Stallworth's two-year house arrest to follow allow him to resume his football career. The terms of Goodell's prompt, strong and correct decision on Thursday do not.

You know where this column is headed, and I know the lawyer-speak arguments that come with it. The cases of Vick, jailed for more than a year-and-a-half, and Stallworth are different. Apples and oranges, say the attorneys. Stallworth has a defense, albeit a wobbly one, in the fact that the victim was jaywalking.

While jaywalking is a crime, it's enforced more in Mayberry than Miami. There are places in Miami, as in any big city, where you'd actually be safer if the dangers of jaywalking were your only threat. Unfortunately Mario Reyes wasn't only jaywalking but was further distracted by hailing a bus.

Stallworth, who played in the SEC at Tennessee, appears to have helped himself with his actions immediately following the accident. His life needn't be destroyed by this tragic situation, nor should it skip merrily along.

There's a balance that needs to be found even if the justice system couldn't find it. Thankfully Goodell did find it and applied the Eddie Murphy theory of expedited rehabilitation. He's taken away Stallworth's money, the checkbook that help curry favor with Reyes' family in a settlement.

Serving as the CEO of a pro sports league these days requires a thorough knowledge of crime and punishment and personal convictions of how your players should exist and behave within.

Thank goodness Goodell takes his role seriously.

Parrish Alford (parrish.alford@djournal.com) covers Ole Miss for the Daily Journal. He blogs about Ole Miss athletics at www.nems360.com.