NFL Suspends Michael Vick Indefinitely
This undated photo provided by City of Montreal Police Service media relations shows Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, who is wanted for homicide. Montreal police said on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, they have identified Magnotta as a suspect in the gruesome case of severed body parts discovered in packages mailed to Ottawa, Ontario, and in a garbage heap in Montreal. / AP Photo/City of Montreal Police Service
The NFL indefinitely suspended Michael Vick without pay Friday just hours after he acknowledged in court papers that he did, indeed, bankroll gambling on dogfighting and helped kill some dogs not worthy of the pit.
Vick, however, insisted he placed no bets of his own nor took any winnings.
Sportswear giant Nike severed its ties with the Atlanta Falcons quarterback yesterday, issuing a statement that said "Nike has terminated our contract with Michael Vick following yesterday's release of details of his plea. As we have said in previous statements, we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane, abhorrent and unacceptable."
Nike suspended Vick's contract last month and said items bearing his name would no longer appear in company-owned stores. Nike also has decided not to release a fifth signature shoe, the Air Zoom Vick V, this summer.
Terms of his deal with Nike have not been released.
In disciplining Vick, commissioner Roger Goodell said Vick's admitted conduct was "not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible" and regardless whether he personally placed bets, "your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."
A "summary of facts" signed by Vick was filed along with his written plea agreement on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge. He will appear before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson to formally plead guilty Monday and then await sentencing at a later date.
The court documents and a statement by Vick's legal team seek to portray him as less involved in the dogfighting ring than three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
"While Mr. Vick is not personally charged with or responsible for committing all of the acts alleged in the indictment, as with any conspiracy charge, he is taking full responsibility for his actions and the actions of the others involved," the defense team said in a written statement after the plea agreement was filed.
"Mr. Vick apologizes for his poor judgment in associating himself with those involved in dog fighting and realizes he should never have been involved in this conduct," the statement said.
Vick signed the plea agreement late Thursday.
"Most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies were provided by Vick," a summary of facts in the case said, echoing language in plea agreements by three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty.
The statement said that when the kennel's dogs won, the gambling proceeds were generally shared by Vick's three co-defendants — Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips.
"Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels," the summary said.
According to the statement, Vick also was involved with the others in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions last April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.
Dan Dierdorf, NFL Analyst for CBS Sports, said, "I don't know there's a whole lot of difference between being the guy that actually drowned, hung or electrocuted a dog, or knowing that it was being done on your property to your dogs by your friends."
In the plea agreement, the government committed to recommending a sentence on the low end of the federal sentencing guideline range of a year to 18 months. However, the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the judge is not bound by any recommendation or by the sentencing guidelines.
Hudson has a reputation for imposing stiff sentences, according to lawyers who have appeared in his court. The judge will set a sentencing date at Monday's hearing.
"Our position has been that we are going to try to help Judge Hudson understand all the facts and Michael's role," Vick's defense attorney, Billy Martin, said in telephone interview. "Michael's role was different than others associated with this incident."
Martin said Vick will "speak to the public and explain his actions." Though he declined to say when and where, the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," a syndicated program based in Dallas, said it will have a live interview with Vick on Tuesday.
It is not uncommon in plea agreements for the defendant to plead guilty to only one charge and to negotiate with prosecutors over the specific facts to which he'll be admitting, CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen said. In this case, prosecutors may not care that he's not admitting to gambling so long as he gets a significant prison sentence.
The U.S. Attorney's office, which has declined to comment on the case, said it would issue a statement after the hearing.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Vick, however, insisted he placed no bets of his own nor took any winnings.
Sportswear giant Nike severed its ties with the Atlanta Falcons quarterback yesterday, issuing a statement that said "Nike has terminated our contract with Michael Vick following yesterday's release of details of his plea. As we have said in previous statements, we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane, abhorrent and unacceptable."
Nike suspended Vick's contract last month and said items bearing his name would no longer appear in company-owned stores. Nike also has decided not to release a fifth signature shoe, the Air Zoom Vick V, this summer.
Terms of his deal with Nike have not been released.
In disciplining Vick, commissioner Roger Goodell said Vick's admitted conduct was "not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible" and regardless whether he personally placed bets, "your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."
A "summary of facts" signed by Vick was filed along with his written plea agreement on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge. He will appear before U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson to formally plead guilty Monday and then await sentencing at a later date.
The court documents and a statement by Vick's legal team seek to portray him as less involved in the dogfighting ring than three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
"While Mr. Vick is not personally charged with or responsible for committing all of the acts alleged in the indictment, as with any conspiracy charge, he is taking full responsibility for his actions and the actions of the others involved," the defense team said in a written statement after the plea agreement was filed.
"Mr. Vick apologizes for his poor judgment in associating himself with those involved in dog fighting and realizes he should never have been involved in this conduct," the statement said.
Vick signed the plea agreement late Thursday.
"Most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies were provided by Vick," a summary of facts in the case said, echoing language in plea agreements by three co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty.
The statement said that when the kennel's dogs won, the gambling proceeds were generally shared by Vick's three co-defendants — Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips.
"Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels," the summary said.
According to the statement, Vick also was involved with the others in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions last April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.
"Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick and two of the co-defendants, Phillips and Peace, the statement said.
Plea Agreement Summary Of The Facts
Dan Dierdorf, NFL Analyst for CBS Sports, said, "I don't know there's a whole lot of difference between being the guy that actually drowned, hung or electrocuted a dog, or knowing that it was being done on your property to your dogs by your friends."
In the plea agreement, the government committed to recommending a sentence on the low end of the federal sentencing guideline range of a year to 18 months. However, the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the judge is not bound by any recommendation or by the sentencing guidelines.
Hudson has a reputation for imposing stiff sentences, according to lawyers who have appeared in his court. The judge will set a sentencing date at Monday's hearing.
"Our position has been that we are going to try to help Judge Hudson understand all the facts and Michael's role," Vick's defense attorney, Billy Martin, said in telephone interview. "Michael's role was different than others associated with this incident."
Martin said Vick will "speak to the public and explain his actions." Though he declined to say when and where, the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," a syndicated program based in Dallas, said it will have a live interview with Vick on Tuesday.
It is not uncommon in plea agreements for the defendant to plead guilty to only one charge and to negotiate with prosecutors over the specific facts to which he'll be admitting, CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen said. In this case, prosecutors may not care that he's not admitting to gambling so long as he gets a significant prison sentence.
The U.S. Attorney's office, which has declined to comment on the case, said it would issue a statement after the hearing.
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As far as South and North America, whom are you referring to Native Americans, because they were the only indigenous people before Europeans.
So, what are you saying Native Americans started this brutal sport, or are you speaking of the Mexicans, but before you go there remember the Spaniards conquered Central and South America, which they polluted and contaminated their population.
So, please discourse with facts dating pre-European invasion that clearly demonstrates that dog fighting was a part of Native American culture..
Posted by kailumego1 at 04:55 PM : Aug 26, 2007
So what are you saying? Only white folks are condemning this behavior? (Oh, I know firsthand that''s not a fact) And are responsible for "Bush sent Condolezza Rice to the Equatorial New Guinea to met with president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to extend a hand in friendship." B S!!
You think that if Peyton Manning had done this the outcry from dog lovers would have been less because he was white? B S again.
And by the way, when you spout off that %u201CDOG FIGHTING%u201D is a creation of white Southern male%u2019s sadistic perversion not %u201CBLACKS%u201D. Maybe you should "thoroughly investigate" a little better. Didn''t take much investigation to discover that "dog fighting" was created a long before whites occupied the South or even North America.
I find your bigotry enlightening though.
Interesting how it is "white Southern male%u2019s sadistic perversion" but the same so-called sport is taken up by "struggling misguided troubled black youth with nothing else positive to occupy their minds".
I guess football and $110 million wasn''t enough to occupy Mr. Vick''s mind.
OBTW, I''m not a white Southern male. I just don''t like bigot''s, white, black, brown, or yellow. But at least you''re a smart bigot, not an i d i o t like seven_pesos.
The U.S. government hires underground arms dealers to supply weapons to dictators, in third-world countries knowing full well these barbarians are responsible for the genocide of hundreds-of-thousands of people.
Bush sent Condolezza Rice to the Equatorial New Guinea to met with president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to extend a hand in friendship.
Now I know many of you probably have little or no knowledge of where the Equatorial New Guinea is located let along the president''s name.
As I''m quite sure many of you probably could care less, but I''ll indulge you anyway.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a ruthless dictator known for his savage brutality on all those who resist or oppose his authority.
He has been known to "chop" off the hands and feet of those in opposition along with barbaric forms of torture, and still this country, our leader, supports his presidency.
So, as some of you white folks sit in pontification and condemnation over Vick''s reprehensible behavior, stop and look long and hard in the mirror at yourselves.
The U.S. government hires underground arms dealers to supply weapons to dictators, in third-world countries knowing full well these barbarians are responsible for the genocide of hundreds-of-thousands of people.
Bush sent Condolezza Rice to the Equatorial New Guinea to met with president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, to extend a hand in friendship.
Now I know many of you probably have little or no knowledge of where the Equatorial New Guinea is located let along the president''s name.
As I''m quite sure many of you probably could care less, but I''ll indulge you anyway.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is a ruthless dictator known for his savage brutality on all those who resist or oppose his authority.
He has been known to "chop" off the hands and feet of those in opposition along with barbaric forms of torture, and still this country, our leader, supports his presidency.
So, as some of you white folks sit in pontification and condemnation over Vick''s reprehensible behavior, stop and look long and hard in the mirror at yourselves.
Notwithstanding, Vick%u2019s obvious dysfunctional environmental influences you must also consider the learned societal inappropriateness from the white population idiosyncratic behaviorisms, here lies the %u201Cdouble-standard%u201D.
Nowhere in the hundreds of post condemning Vick has it mentioned where this %u201Cdog fighting%u201D venture originated, as a matter of fact, there has been a lot of posters linking this aberrant behavior to the %u201Cghettos%u201D, blacks a whole, %u201C thugs%u201D, etc.
This %u201Ccreation%u201D didn%u2019t birth itself in the black cultural, but in white Southern rural cultural, which it had firmly rooted itself until struggling misguided troubled black youth with nothing else positive to occupy their minds decided to contaminate their communities with this anti-social perversion.
%u201CDOG FIGHTING%u201D is a creation of white Southern male%u2019s sadistic perversion not %u201CBLACKS%u201D, and if those posting had thoroughly investigated there is a wealth of information pre-dating this fact.
Forgot to mention in my last part, there are anomalies, meaning individuals who defy the odds.
Whenever a story about black males/females committing some horrible despicable crime surfaces in the media this becomes %u201Copen season%u201D for every maladaptive, pathologically perverse, misanthropic white person to wage a verbal attack, these are the majority of posters.
There are a lot of outraged whites/blacks posting here because they are animal lovers, as I, and find it disgusting, deplorable, and unforgivable for anyone to inhumanely treat a defenseless animal, however, then there are those white slime lurking around corners up under every rock, boulder, etc. for the opportunity to vomit their sadistic perversions, and likewise, there are those black co-dependent enablers, NAACP, etc. luring about corners ready to rationalize black degeneracy and self-loathingness as a white man%u2019s disease due to %u201Cracism%u201D.
While I agree with you Trueprogress that a majority culture has negatively influenced and impacted the behavior of minorities in this country, it doesn%u2019t explain why some blacks have not allowed themselves to be %u201Csuckered in%u201D or sucked into this vacuum of self-destructiveness, self-loathingness, and self-degradation.