May he rot in hell, or at least in general population. What wonderful young men (and representatives of Frank Beamer’s VT program) those Vick brothers turned out to be. I am not at all a dog person, but anybody with a conscience should be disgusted by the abuse and torture of helpless animals. It’s the same kind of power trip that leads to the abuse of children. Thankfully, I believe Ron Mexico has none of those. Some details, from the better Washington Post article:
A source familiar with the case, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the terms of the deal were to be kept confidential, said that Vick likely will serve 12 to 18 months in prison.
NFL discipline against Vick is pending and likely will be determined, a source said, after Vick meets with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Last month, Goodell ordered Vick not to report to the Falcons’ training camp and announced that Vick’s playing status would be determined by a review being conducted by Washington attorney Eric Holder.
The federal indictment of Vick portrayed him as an active member of the dogfighting operation who attended and even traveled to dogfights, paid bets for losing fights and participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well.
Here’s a great editorial from ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski. Excerpts:
Prison is too good for people capable of this kind of cruelty. This is why Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, if he cops his own plea or is eventually found guilty of federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, should have to join the rest of his Bad Newz Kennels crew and do some hard time at the Atlanta Humane Society.
So pit bull torture sessions? Drownings? Electrocutions? Hangings? Shootings? Rape stands? Fights to the death? There isn’t an adjective in existence that describes my level of disgust, astonishment and sadness at the inhumanity of such acts.
If I’m the federal judge in charge of sentencing, I make Vick and the others report to the AHS Monday through Sunday at 8 a.m. sharp. There are about 100 cages that need to be cleaned twice each day. Sadly, there are few vacancies at the Humane Society.
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August 20th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I wouldn’t want that SOB anywhere near an animal, much less being in charge of caring for it in any way. People who can do those things to an animal just aren’t capable of understanding why it’s wrong.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
They shouldn’t be around people either. People arrested for dog fighting are 500 percent more likely to be arrested for violent crimes against people.
Vick’s toast. You’ll never hear from him again until he gets killed selling crack on a schoolyard or stealing money from an orphanage.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
BTW, this is why character matters. I’m not saying that people who ARENT involved in dog-fighting have character, I’m saying that this is why schools that put up with knuckleheaded behavior are just begging for this kind of crap.
I don’t care how good the guy is, I don’t care how badly we need his talents….there has to be a well-defined line, your players have to know where that is and you have to boot the guys that cross it.
In the long run, the guys who cross that line aren’t going to be around to help you anyway, so you’re better off without them.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN wrote an interesting piece on how Micheal Vick is a sympathetic figure. Not saying I agree with it, Vick deserves everything he gets and more, but it was interesting to see a different perspective. Diversity of opinion is always good, right?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/070816
August 20th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
A little old, seeing as how Vick plead guilty and it’s no longer just accusations. A unique read though.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
i posted this earlier it fits better here…
please, no vick. the whole thing is disgusting. the dog fighting isnt even the big issue. its the fact that he gets off on torturing and viciously murdering the ones who survive. he is mentally disturbed just like the serial killers and pyscopaths who start killing animals/pets when they are children. lock him up.
August 20th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Let the man do his time and pay is fine. I’ll have to make my determination of his character once he has had time to reflect on his past. I’m not a Vick supporter but I think you judge whether or not someone is able to learn from their past.
If there are players in the NFL convicted of domestic abuse still playing I don’t see how you can keep Vick out for good. Oakland will take him.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Who would have thought Marcus would turn out to be the good one?
August 20th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
If I were suspended over a pit of molten lava and Page 2 was the only thing to pull me to safety….well, it’s been good knowing ya.
1) Why do people bring up PETA with this case? As though they were the ONLY people who were interested in the welfare of dogs? As though tens of millions of dog owners didn’t look at their pooch and immediately think about boiling Vick in oil?
2) What the f*CK does Dook Lax have to do with this? One involved a schmuck prosecutor and a crazy hooker. The other involved federal prosecutors, federal indictments, witnesses falling over themselves to testify and more proof than anyone could possibly want. What in the WORLD do those two cases have to do with each other???
3) You know why we treat people who get indicted as though they were guilty? Because in something like 99 percent of the cases, they ARE. Ever been to a courtroom? Those people are guilty as hell! Ever been to a lockup? Look…would you really want to live in a country where 99 percent of the people on trial were innocent??
4) Vick as sympathetic? Who the f*** is writing this? Since he was about eight years old, Vick has been a petty criminal. He’s hung around criminals, he’s broken all kinds of petty laws, he’s been arrested multiple times. He’s never been good at school, he’s always been a trouble maker. This is NOT lightning from a blue sky.
5) You think a year and a half in the can is “sending a message?” Cutting off his arms and legs and packing his torso in salt and then leaving him to die in the desert would “send a message.” There’s no message here. This is a littly bitty slap on the wrist for a violent thug….a guy who has treated everyone around him like a potential victim. If he isn’t ripping off the falcons for millions of dollars for his sh*tty QB play, he’s willfully infecting people with herpes or torturing animals and hanging out with people who should be used for fertilizer.
6) Race??? Are you crazy? There’s no stigma about black quarterbacks anymore. There hasn’t been for about 20 years. Warren Moon, Donovan McNabb, Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Daunte Culpepper….all great QBs in their prime who every team would love to have.
What does race have to do with any of this?? Does this idiot realize that among the charming things that people who engage in dog fighting do…one of them is to wander into neighborhoods and steal dogs. Then they wire the mouths shut and use them as “bait” for the pit bulls. Ever known someone whose dog just went missing before?
I don’t believe in capital punishment (my personal opinon…you can have yours), but if I saw someone do that, I’d go completely William Munny on them. I’d shoot them in the face. I’d shoot their mother in the face for not getting an abortion when they were pregnant. Then I’d shoot their friends. Then I’d burn their damn houses down.
Idiot writer…
August 20th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
“I’m not a Vick supporter but I think you judge whether or not someone is able to learn from their past.”
If Vick was capable of learning anything, he wouldn’t have been on trial. It’s not like this is the first time he ever broke the rules.
Secondly, the NFL won’t bar him for life. But 18 months of fed. time means 18 months of fed. time. No parole for good behavior. And that’s if the judge doesn’t give him MORE than that. So there’s two years at least…and then he gets to start serving his NFL suspension. That’s at least one more year.
So the earliest he can return is 2010. He’ll be 32 years old. He was a crappy quarterback to begin with. He’ll be slow, broken down, he’ll have none of his timing…
Yeah, he’s done.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
since we’re talking current events…. how many acc bball officials do you think are on the take? how many do you think have purposely made calls to affect the outcome of a game? maybe not specifically gambling but making sure the boys in blue(either shade) have the best chance at winning. i think if there were an investigation by someone other than the acc commisioner there would be some desturbing results. i have questioned the integrity of acc officials for a long time, if we outsourced an investigation i wonder how many questionable officials they would find? 3, 4, more……
August 20th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Zero.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
They should let these guys ride motorcycles, snowski, waterski and skydive. As Noah has pointed out, what’s the difference between your parachute not opening and going to federal prison? Either way your value to the team that signed you is shot. However, if you’re allowed to snowski in the off season maybe you’d have enough of a diversion to keep you out of the dog pit. And a blown knee is something you can recover from more times than not.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
noah, I don’t have time to read this whole thread right now, but you said he, Vick, was “toast” and won’t be heard from again. That would more than suit me fine, I think he’ll still be around and strangely enough held up by certain groups, as some type of unfairly treated poster boy. But do you really think Vick is permanently out of professional football?
August 20th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
“Who would have thought Marcus would turn out to be the good one?”
Maybe Marcus was the “family” Michael consulted before agreeing to enter his guilty plea. The irony.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
LRM
There’s subsitute for prior experience.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I don’t think Vick is out of football forever…if he plays his cards right.
I wonder a couple of things:
1) Did he ever meet w/ Roger Goodell to discuss this issue? If so, what did he say about his guilt/innocence. He may have really hurt his chances for a speedier return if he lied about this.
2) Goodell does have somewhat of a challenge. There could be a lot of NFL guys involved in this kind of activity. Maybe they weren’t as involved as Vick, but I’m sure there’s a couple.
3) I don’t know what it’s going to take for some of these guys to learn. Ray Lewis was almost on the hook to murder thanks to members of his entourage.
4) Vick has no idea how many people he just let down. He has proven almost every negative thing people have said about him. All those folks now have to say is “scoreboard.”
August 20th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Funny how Beamer’s rep has not suffered from the Vick brother’s tenure at VPI. I always had a lot of respect for him… right up until he rolled over for Marcus and let him come back.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I’m a little surprised that Mama Vick and Frank Beamer haven’t caught more flak about this. One might be an anolmaly, but 2 is a trend. And Beamer certainly gave the “star treatment” to both. A sense of entitlement in a young person can be a very dangerous thing, and it’s up to parents and other authority figures not to let that seed take root.
Noah is right, Vick is out AT LEAST 3 years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Goodell (after concluding his internal investigation) decides that a 2 or 3 year suspension (after jail sentence, or even probation is over).
Think back to the crappy condition Jamal Lewis was in after his time in the federal pokey – and that was after a few MONTHS, solely in the offseason. Also, like Noah said, Vick without his speed (and he will lose several steps over the next 3+ years, from age and inability to fully train) is pretty much useless. Stationary QBs who can’t throw with even minimally acceptable accuracy aren’t exactly a hot commodity.
John Clayton also explains why he won’t see another NFL snap – it would be a PR nightmare for the team who signs him, and the payoff simply won’t be worth it. He really wasn’t a good QB to begin with, even if there was no skill deterioration.
Okay, maybe the Raiders. His felon status would be a badge of honor there, as long as Al Davis’ corpse is still technically in charge.
And Vick won’t change – he’s been a thug and a miscreant for quite some time now. The best he’ll ever do is develop enough impulse control not to be an active menace to society. I wouldn’t bet on that, either.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
He apparently told Goodell he 100% wasn’t involved. That’s why so many people expected him to go to trial, b/c he couldn’t contradict that w/o giving Goodell free reign to come down extremely hard. It was essentially “acquittal or career over.” Goodell wants him out forever, and he has the ammo to make it happen, at least from a practical standpoint. The odds just got so overwhelming that he couldn’t take the gamble (it’s still 4 extra years of his life, maybe more). He could play arena ball, or possibly the CFL.
The NFLPA won’t go to bat for him, and it’s a very weak union in any event.
August 20th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I would imagine obtaining a visa to play in Canada might be an issue for an ex-felon…
August 20th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Actually Noah 18 months of Fed time is cut to 85% of 18. He’d be out in about 15.3 months. That happens in a plea. If you are convicted by trial – you do 100%. Not trying to pick a fight – just familiar with the process and have read the same in the media write ups.
August 20th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
noah, you might not be able to see that your stance on amateur sports involving younger and younger amateur athletes, and their uninhibited rush to fame and the big money, could possibly be contributing to these “I’m above it all” and lawless attitudes. But I’ll say one thing, when it all finally does come back to bite, so to speak, you are the man I’d like to see doleing out the punishment.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
noah, I especially agree with #5. Our country and prisons are full of people who could have chosen the right road with a little guidance at the right time but were instead allowed to grow in their ignorance until they finally , really believed they were above the law.
The guy who should be getting crap for this is Arthur ” I am truly clueless and” Blank. Guys who worry more about putting on a show instead of the integrity of the game will always make an exception for a piece of crap like Ron Mexico. You think a background investigation by a private firm, not bound by the rules strangling the NFLPA, could have uncovered some of this to begin with?
And you were also right about his ability to QB. It never existed in the first place. He would have made one heck of a kick returner/receiver if someone had just had the balls.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
There’s a bright side for Vick in all this: has there ever been a better spokesperson come along for KY?