He received 23 months because he lied, because he told anyone who would listen — including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank — that the dogfighting charges were bogus, that he had nothing to do with any of it. He did not step forward and accept responsibility when he had the chance. He hid behind his superstar veneer and hoped it would blow over.

He will sit in jail because, even after he pled guilty and signed a deal with prosecutors, he tested positive for marijuana, a violation of his agreement.

He will mingle with tough men who are not teammates but inmates because he gave a public apology that satisfied just about every group that mattered save for the one that he needed to satisfy the most: the people who care about animals. His token mention of his rejection of dogfighting was calculated, insulting and ineffective.

The judge looked at all of that.

What he didn’t look at was how much money Michael Vick is losing as the result of his transgressions. That shouldn’t matter, even if some complain that the man has suffered enough by having to forfeit over $100 million in salary and endorsements.

Vick’s personal losses are inconsequential in the criminal matter. If he were a mailman going to jail for two years, would anyone complain of his financial woes? The money out of Vick’s pocket is a separate issue. That’s his problem. If he didn’t want to see over $100 million vanish before his very eyes, he shouldn’t have tortured and killed dogs and bet on the outcome of dog fights.

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Vick isn’t going up the river because he naively fell under the sway of old neighborhood friends who led him down the path to destruction. Vick is an adult. He had ample opportunity to say, “You know what? I don’t want to get involved in anything illegal.” And if he were a true friend, he would have also said, “You’re my friends and I care about you, and I don’t want to see you get into trouble, so I don’t think a dogfighting ring is a good idea.”

He didn’t. From the time he signed his first NFL contract in 2001, he planned to start a dogfighting operation. He carried out that plan and stuck with it. He did not make a mistake. He executed a premeditated scheme to run a criminal operation.

As a result, he received a prison sentence of 23 months, a punishment he richly deserves.

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