Possible Vick outcomes
Since james did such a great job digging into the details of the Vick indictment, I thought I’d open up a mostly comments-oriented post concerning the ramifications of the indictment and the potential outcomes IF Vick is convicted.
Seeing as how new NFL commish Roger Goodell has a ton of power to suspend and fine players (see Pacman Jones) many think he’ll weigh in PRIOR to the court date Vick has coming up soon. Some are actively calling on Goodell to ban Vick from play in the NFL to send a message.
Under new rules agreed upon by the Players Union and the NFL IF Vick is convicted he’ll get that kind of sentence from the league anyhow, but Goodell has proven he’s eager and willing to take preemptive actions against players who don’t follow the law.
Which begs the question: if Pacman and Vick had committed opposite offenses (if they switched alleged crimes) what would happen? Most think he’ll be unable to escape unscathed if he escapes at all.
Does Vick deserve “star” treatment because of his position (QB), his unique skill-set and his marketability (such as it is now) for the NFL and the Falcons?
I’m curious to know what you think about the issues that fall outside of the indictment letter and the accused crimes.
Should the league step in to mete out punishment? What should ownership do? What should fans do (other than cancel season tickets)?
Comment!
You think the fans want to see Joey Harrington at starting QB? I mean, Kobe was accused of rape and got to play that season, why shouldn’t Vick? Innocent until proven guilty… and chances are this case wont be done by the end of the season
Players have been accused of worse and still went on to play and star in the NFL . Ray Lewis triple homicide right here in ATL is just one example. (Thanks for ruining our 4am last call Ray.). All you can say is innocent until proven guilty. Speculation is a useless waste of time, there are more pressing issues in our city.
BTI, thank goodness blogging technology is so readily available so you can feel free to blog about those more pressing issues on your own time. ;-)
Me, I think the Vick case is a HUGE story with lots of local and national interest.
For one, it exposes a pretty horrific underground “sport” to more scrutiny. If anyone (and obviously it might not be Vick yet since we’re only at the indictment stage) could do these kinds of things to an animal, imagine what else they’re capable of.
Second, Vick doesn’t exactly walk on water. His sub-par performance on the field last season, the new coaching regime this year and the whole middle finger fiasco make this story about more than just this one incident, they go to the professionalism and character of one of the most visible sports stars in Atlanta.
So, while I agree that no one should judge him just yet, I think there are some interesting angles as to what might happen given the rules of the NFL and the timbre of the new commissioner.
My beau and I were talking about this yesterday. I truly hope that the NFL at least imposes some sort of suspension on Vick. A fine won’t matter much because he makes so much money anyway. I think people in his position have a professional obligation not to just do their job on the playing field, but to do their job as a public citizen. It sounds old-fashioned but it’s true: Vick is or at least should be a role model to our youth. Part of his professional obligation, I think, is for him to conduct himself in a manner that people can look up to, or at the very least not to break the law. Innocent until proven guilty yes, but if proven guilty I hope they make an example of him. It’s an embarrassment to our city.
‘innocent until proven guilty’ is a legal standard and then only for criminal infractions. companies like the nfl and nike are certainly under no obligation to follow it.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2007/07/19/vicknike_0719.html
I failed to notice the NFL’s official line on the indictment.
More here.
There is no question that a dogfighting operation was going on at a house he owned. The only question is if he can be found responsible in a court of law. The NFL doesn’t have to, and shouldn’t, wait to ban him. Vick is a thug and his sponsorship of such a cruel amusement is disgusting.
Fair enough. I’ll just say I bet if he’s not convicted nothing will happen to him. If he is found guilty he’ll go to jail and the falcons will cut him.
@BTI – So it’s either/or?
I think that there exist some other possibilities because of the way the league and the players union have written the rules on player conduct.
Basically, unless he is completely exonerated of all charges the league MUST respond under their own rules.
I think he’s looking at some kind of fine/suspension at the very least, if only because it happened on his property.
beyond that, what kind of marketing liability is he going to become? i think this is different than selling marijuana (ala bam morris)?
tell me no matter what, vick isn’t going to be forever associated with images of bloodied pit bulls, exhausted from fighting in a pit, being electrocuted because they didn’t ‘roll’ well.
my guess, he has made himself kryptonite to just about any endorser or team….
James, if he is eventually found innocent and if he actually starts living up to his potiential, then sponors will come back. I mean just look at Kobe! He got off he played some mad basketball and now he is back in the endorsement game. Not saying it is right, just saying.
Personally, I think the team should just suspend Vick right now for 4 games. Even if he wasn’t involved, he owned and property and has to take responsibility for that. It is a way for the team to say, we take seriously what kind of things you do during the off season and what you do that will reflect badly on us. Even if he is found innocent, a 4 game suspension seems fair to deliever this kind of message.
NFL, Falcons may be discussing a leave-of-absence scenario: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2943276