NFL's Vick Takes Plea Deal on Dog Fighting Case

Multi-millionaire Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons has taken a plea deal on charges that he was engaged in dog fighting. The evidence cropped up this spring when authorities went to a property he owned in rural Virginia on a drugs warrant. Cops found 66 dogs and a mass of dog fighting equipment. Mr. Vick originally claimed ignorance of everything that went on there. After three of his associates took plea deals, he made his own. Oddly, he won't be banned from life by the NFL for killing dogs in rather barbaric ways but may well suffer such a punishment for gambling on the fights.

Dog fighting, where two dogs fight in a pit to the death, is a felony in every state but Wyoming and Idaho (where dinner theater obviously hasn't made the inroads it has in Arkansas and West Virginia), but the uproar about the Vick case stems from a general revulsion with cruelty to animals that extends beyond PETA members. People are upset not so much about the criminal nature of the activity as they are the activity itself. Mr. Vick is accused of (and appears to have admitted) to killing off loser dogs by strangulation, electrocution and in one case, a vigorous body slam. It's the kind of behavior that would get a teenager in the suburbs some serious shrink time before he turned into the next Jeff Dahmer. Mr. Vick is a rich athlete, and in America, that means the rules for him are different. He gets a deal from prosecutors and not psychotherapy.

His deal has yet to receive a judge's blessing, but he faces around a year in jail, and $500,000 in fines. For a guy with a nine-digit NFL contract, that's nothing. What did have him and his legal team worried was the racketeering charge the feds were going to bring next week; they could RICO his entire fortune, and then, he'd have to live on his earnings as a regular graduate from Virginia Tech (not many nine-digit pay packets there).

The NFL, which has problems with its image anyway, is caught with a huge decision to make. How does one create the kind of brand image it desires if a convicted felon is allowed back on the field? So, a ban from the league is almost certain. An unnamed ESPN source back in May said, Vick is "one of the ones that they call 'the big boys': that's who bets a large dollar. And they have the money to bet large money. As I'm talking about large money -- $30,000 to $40,000 -- even higher. He's one of the heavyweights." The NFL has a policy against players gambling or even associating with gamblers. His co-defendants have backed up all of this. Then, there is the concern about money-laundering and tax evasion that hangs in the air around all of this.

At 27, Mr. Vick could well come through a prison term the early side of 30, leaving him a few years of football still. As with Barry Bonds of steroid fame, fans quickly forget when it comes time to cheer their team. Mr. Vick could still have a career ahead of him if the league lets him. One modest proposal is to forgive the man and let him return once the criminal penalty is served. A lesson in redemption would mean more at this stage than retribution. However, one dog lover suggested he play by the same rules as his animals - lose and die. There is a Darwinian justice to that.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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