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Very Shameful
December 11, 2007
Suspended Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick was given a prison sentence of 23 months on December 10 for his role in the dogfighting ring that took place at his Surry County, VA property. He was also given 3 years of probation and fined $5000. Good behavior could reduce Vick's sentence by 3 months, but there is no parole in the federal system. He is scheduled to appear in court for state dogfighting charges on April 2, 2008.
Twenty-three months may sound like a long time, but what he did was pretty bad. The brutal killings of the dogs that didn’t perform well is what made it so appalling. There is always going to be the debate of whether or not dogfighting is inhumane compared to hunting, bullfighting, etc. But there is no denying the fact that the killings of the dogs is downright repulsive. It was reported that some of the dogs were killed by drowning, electrocution, hanging, and shooting.
Vick can now kiss his $130 million contract goodbye. He can also forget about his many endorsement deals including Nike, Reebok, Upper Deck, and Rawlings Sporting Goods who have all either pulled Vick products or severed ties with him in Rawlings’ case. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its website that Vick has acquired financial losses of an estimated $142 million, including $70 million in salary, $50 million in endorsements, and $20 million in bonuses. He is currently suspended without pay from the NFL.
A man in Vick’s financial position clearly has nothing to gain by bankrolling a dogfighting ring. Vick himself said he provided money to some of his cohorts to bet on the fights but never got any of the winnings. There has to be some other motivation. What that is has yet to be determined.
He claimed to have had nothing to do with the dogfighting but very quickly had fingers pointed at him by his own friends. To make things worse, he claimed to have not used illicit drugs but tested positive for marijuana on September 13. How well could he be trusted after all of this?
Vick may or may not play in the NFL again. That’s probably been the least of his worries over the last few months. But he has no one to blame but himself. Very shameful.