Mike Vick involved in dog fighting?

Just read over on MSNBC that authorities raided a house owned by Vick and found more than 60 dogs in various stages of health - none good. Some were reportedly malnourished, injured, and many were scarred. The president/CEO of the US Humane Society is quoted in the article as saying that they've "heard troubling reports" in the past regarding Vick's involvement in organized dog fighting. For the record, Vick does not live on the property - he owns it and a relative lives there.

Now, I know the LAX case has taught us all the importance of the presumption of innocence, but IF these allegations prove true, I hope that whomever is responsible - whether it's the dude who lives there or the superstar QB who owns the house - gets the maximum penalty under the law. I also hope there's a special place in hell for ANYONE who gets their jollies being cruel to animals.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2850545

As most of you know, I have spent most of my life living in Atlanta and am a Falcons fan. I think the league should conduct a thorough investigation of Michael Vick and even require him to take a lie detector test. If he knew about this, he needs to be suspended. He needs to be taught a lesson.

Much like Pacman Jones, there seem to an ever growing series of "incidents" involving Michael Vick and the people around him. I am very bothered by this and want him to learn the rules of society apply to him.

My children are, as you might expect, big Vick fans. I will wait to see how this incident plays out and what, if any, invovlement Vick has in it. But, if he is even mildly connected, I plan to tell my boys a little bit about it and together we will see if we can figure out a way to root for the Falcons as a team while not liking their star player.

--Jason "Grrrrrr. I am really mad at Michael Vick right now" Evans

Jason, has it really taken you this long to be mad at Michael Vick? The stupidity of the water bottle with the hidden compartment didn't do it? The famous finger at fans? The inability to read defenses? Throwing his last coach under the bus? The seeming lack of caring that he is far from a winner? Skipping a date to testify before Congress on after-school programs and blaming it on AirTran, who pays him to endorse them? I have rarely seen an athlete who could be on a level with Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in endorsement opportunities make himself so unattractive to potential sponsors.

I'm in Atlanta also and have had enough of the Falcons. Michael Vick is a big reason for that, but there's also the disappointing hiring of Petrino, losing Patrick Kearney to Seattle, and the player (can't remember the name right now) who apparently beat his girlfriend's dog to death.

It's a shame. I think that Arthur Blank is trying hard to improve this team and to make it a part of the community, but he's failing.

Put me down in the "really angry with the Falcons" camp, too. Say what you will about Michael Vick's on-field shortcomings, but those sorts of concerns are always subject to an impossible number of variables and thus reasonably explainable. It is never hard, however, to be a good guy off the field. Vick, I'm sure, supports lots of family members/hangers-on with his megabucks, but with his support should come a proviso that those people won't do anything to embarrass him. Vick doesn't yet seem to have mustered the maturity to do that. In light of his underwhelming athletic performance, he can ill afford these repeated incidents, especially now that Schaub has been traded. He is dangerously close to losing the Falcons fans (and indeed has already lost a lot of them).
I am and always have been a Falcons fan, but I'm really fed up with the franchise. On the one hand, we've got someone like Warrick Dunn, one of the NFL's consummate good guys. But the real face of the team is Michael Vick, who clearly doesn't understand the idea that "to whom much is given, much is expected".
I shelled out a bunch of cash this past season to get my brother tickets to the Falcons-Panthers game on Christmas Eve, the day after his birthday. At the time I bought the tickets, it looked as if that might be a contest to decide the division championship, but instead it was a study in mediocrity. My brother and I sat with my dad in disgust at that game for nearly four hours, and I vowed not to return to a game in person until the Falcons make the playoffs. Now I have added to that the corollary that the team must show themselves to be good citizens as well; not just a few standouts, but the whole team.

i too have been disheartened by the Falcons. I wont sit here and say Mike Vick isnt tough - he did play a couple seasons ago with 2 separated shoulders, but I just find that I cant be proud of the team. When they lose there is just a feeling that some of the guys didnt leave it all on the field. Of course, the face of the franchise is less than a savory fellow. Pac Man and Chris Henry were big moves, both were contributing player. But I think Goodell is going to be forced to make a move on Mike Vick one of these days - and that is when we will really see Goodell (sp?) make his hay as a commissioner.

I had heard rumblings and grumblings taht were apparently completely unfounded, esp after the Schaub trade, that the falcons were considering trading Vick to Oak for the #1 pick and maybe another pick. Maybe more just wishful thinking in atlanta - but you know its bad when your star player is the butt of a majority of the jokes made on sports talk radio.

I'm not so sure that Goodell will "make a move" on Vick barring any further happenings. The latest series of embarrassments have each occurred under a cloud of at least reasonable suspicion, but there has been a high degree of uncertainty with regard to each of them, and I don't really think he has committed any actionable offenses. I think it's more unfortunate than that in some respects--the Falcons are saddled with a guy who hasn't really done anything "wrong" (at least not punishably wrong), but who doesn't seem to care enough about the stewardship of his own character and image. Coupled with his totally unmoveable contract, Vick is becoming perhaps a bit of an albatross (an all too familiar figure in Falcons history). We're pretty much stuck with him for the foreseeable future, and unfortunately, he appears to be just not that great of a guy (to say nothing of his enigmatic in-game performance).

i am not saying a suspension the likes of which Henry or Pac Man saw. However, if it turns out there is a connection between Vick and this dog fighting allegation, then Goodell has all the ammunition he needs to suspend Vick.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wilson

the Falcons are saddled with a guy ... who doesn't seem to care enough about the stewardship of his own character and image.

---

You really hit the nail on the head there. Perfect wording.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wilson

I'm not so sure that Goodell will "make a move" on Vick barring any further happenings. The latest series of embarrassments have each occurred under a cloud of at least reasonable suspicion, but there has been a high degree of uncertainty with regard to each of them, and I don't really think he has committed any actionable offenses. I think it's more unfortunate than that in some respects--the Falcons are saddled with a guy who hasn't really done anything "wrong" (at least not punishably wrong), but who doesn't seem to care enough about the stewardship of his own character and image. Coupled with his totally unmoveable contract, Vick is becoming perhaps a bit of an albatross (an all too familiar figure in Falcons history). We're pretty much stuck with him for the foreseeable future, and unfortunately, he appears to be just not that great of a guy (to say nothing of his enigmatic in-game performance).

---

One thing about football contracts, they're not guaranteed. Assuming that the Falcons can take the cap hit of dealing with the signing bonus all at once, Vick's contract can be terminated. Not saying that they should want to do so...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AtlBluRew

It's a shame. I think that Arthur Blank is trying hard to improve this team and to make it a part of the community, but he's failing.

---

I think this stuff is really going to get to Arthur. He was already had several sit-downs with Mike to talk about character and Mike's image. It really matters to him and these guys are not getting it.

Still, they are stuck with him. How badly do you want to win? Did Blank make a deal with the devil when he signed Vick to that monster contract?

-Jason "Vick better have a big season-- or the public will really start to hate him" Evans

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JasonEvans

"Vick better have a big season-- or the public will really start to hate him"

---

Just check the message boards on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website...that process is already well underway.

the report is that Vick wont be indicted. Now, correct me if i am wrong, but doesnt the grand jury make the decisions on the indictments and not the sheriff. The only way the investigators can definitively say he will not be indicted is if they will not present any evidence that he was involved. The evidence that has already been let out to the public is enough to get him indicted. Is this a false report or do you think he really wont be indicted. We know he was there at the house (neighbors say roughly once a month) - what do you criminal minds think?

Not a lawyer, but as a grand juror (federal - for a year) it probably because they aren't asking for one. Evidence in an overall case can be presented that names unindicted individuals. We (on occassion) asked about indicting person "X"...some times the A-USA's would sometimes not. I would guess that there is deal being made- he may be testifiying etc. or there could be evicidence NOT being made public that would lead the sheriff to think that he may get an indictment, but not a conviciton - so he is forgoing the indictment.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV

We need to be careful in our reactions to the Vick dog fighting situation. The lacrosse incident has clearly shown us that however "undeniably" the facts are presented by the media, we should wait until all of the facts are in before condemning Vick.

I will qualify my statement by mentioning that I'm a dog lover and my wife is in veterinary school and clearly the thought of this crime makes me sick to my stomach... however, I have no desire to be labeled as a hypocrite for jumping on Vick before all the facts are in.

-C

i agree with you to an extent.

I am not saying Vick is guilty, by any means. However, a difference between the Vick case and the Lacrosse case is that there is pretty compelling circumstantial evidence in the present case. From Vick owning the home, to Vick lying to authorities saying he never goes to the house, to Vick running this "dog breeding" company with the same address as the home in Va, to the various informants (as unreliable as they may be) claiming to have seen vick at dog fights all the way back to his VT days, to the dead carcasses found on the property, to the fact that Vick paid to have the kennels erected, and so on and so forth. In the Duke Lax case there was no credible circumstantial evidence outside of a windbag prosecutor.

This message board is not a court of law - it is a court of public opinion, and personally, I dont think there is anything hypocritical about discussing what has and has not happened.

It is unnecessary to wait until a final verdict has been handed down before discussing impressions of the case - IMO.

Immediately after the lacrosse party became news, the media hardly presented a picture that made anything seem circumstantial. From the statements of history of alcohol abuses, rowdy behavior, racist behavior, sexual violence, expectation of DNA evidence, and wall of silence, it took a long period of time to expose that anything was "circumstantial" and also that Nifong was completely full of crap.

My cautionary statement should not be considered a call to make no comments, but only to keep the lessons of the past year in mind.

I do not mean to offend the posters of the original story, nor you, but only felt a need to urge caution. High standards of behavior and consideration have been and should always be a characteristic of the Duke family (in my non-authoritative opinion).

I agree, espcially since he is not being named in any court documents.

However, tht is also being spun against him "Michael Vick Is Not Named in Court Documents on Dog Fighting -- So What?" [http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/...dog-fighting/]