Michael Vick Pleads Guilty

Those could be the four biggest words that will happen in the sports year of 2007. With Vick being the only one involved that hadn't already plead guilty to illegal dogfighting charges and a possibility of more ramped up charges, Vick worked out a deal with prosecutors and will now face jail time. The Atlanta QB could face up to as much as five years in prison and a fine of 250 grand. Vick will now "accept full responsibility" for being in a dogfighting ring and will plead to federal conspiracy charges. According to sources close to the proceedings, the prosecution will recommend 12-18 months in the slammer for the former VaTech signal caller. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson will have the final say on the sentence, which will likely be more than what's usually given to first time offenders. The court wants to send a message that animal abuse is serious, and won't be treated lightly. A hearing is scheduled for next Monday. Vick's lawyer Billy Martin said that Vick will take full responsibility for his actions.
"Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."
The league released a statement that Vick's future plea doesn't fall in line with what he told Roger Goodell after he was charged. Vick will likely be suspended indefinitely.
"We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons." The league said.
The Falcons were told to hold off any actions until the league finishes its own investigation. Atlanta will likely seek to get back some of the 22 million dollar signing bonus if Vick is suspended by the league. The team already was prepared to eat Vick's $8.5 million salary cap hit this season, though the NFL is expected to grant a roster exemption.
The very beginning of this story was reported here first exactly three and a half months ago on May 6th.

(5/6/07)
Though it won't get that much publicity, this is a newsworthy story. The Humane Society of the United States would like the league to suspend Michael Vick for illegal dogfighting that was found in his Virginia home. Police in that state were doing a raid of the home owned by Vick for drugs (not his drugs) but many dogs were found who were found to be involved in dogfighting. Some dogs were hurt or poorly fed, and other items of dogfighting gear were also found at the home. The Humane Society wrote a letter to commissioner Goodell to "collaborate with us in an organized effort to eradicate animal cruelty and illegal animal fighting activity from the ranks of the NFL. We believe that the current situation involving Michael Vick is indicative of a larger subculture within the NFL of dogfighting and other forms of violence against animals," The Society believes that Vick was involved in dogfighting long before this incident. Vick has said that he owns the house, but said that his cousin lives there and that he was never there, teammate Johnathan Babineaux is facing felony charges in the death of his girlfriend's dog.

-It sure got publicity all right. Nobody really made much of this story, and most people including myself thought that I'd never head anything from this story ever again. On May 20th, Congress got involved, and I was actually against it. But now I realized that Vick could be in a decent amount of trouble.

(5/20/07)
There can't be a week in sports without Congress getting their noses involved. California representative Tom Lantos of the reform committee, which held the steroids hearings a couple of years back is urging the league to come down hard on alleged dogfight leader Michael Vick. "I am outraged that one of the National Football League's superstars is affiliated with such a heinous enterprise," Good for you, so am I. But the congressman should know his role and let the NFL take care of its players. I'm sure there are many more things in this country to reform, and as usual, the House wants the spotlight. Grow up, elected officials should do what the voters elected them to do, not be involved in some glorified sideshow.

-At that time, it was a glorified sideshow. How things escalated over the next two months shocked the world. Tom Lantos may have been criticized by people, he was ahead of his time and was on top of the situation. If Lantos was actually listened to, Vick woud already be in the slammer. The Vick case went cold soon after because there wasn't enough evidence to get him. It looked like Vick may get out of the situation unscathed.

(5/27/07)
A report said that there is still serious evidence missing from the Michael Vick dogfighting case. It may look like he's off the hook for now. The dogfighting prosecutor said that the Vick investigation was moving forward, and that charges would be brought, but it was not known on whom they'd be brought.

-It took some time, but the investigation brought charges on several people who pled guilty and forced Vick's hand into a plea of his own.

(6/3/07)
AirTran airways has decided not to renew their contract with Michael Vick to be their pitchman.

-They were the first of many companies to pull Vick, and hurt his cred along with his wallet. The investigation went on, and on July 8th it looked as if Vick would be off the hook for good.

(7/8/07)
Michael Vick won't be investigated in a federal dogfighting probe, leaving him to be overrated for many years to come.

-A week later, ther investigation really gained steam and here is where it all started going down.

(7/15/07)
The dogfights on Michael Vick's property followed very strict rules, authorities say. The fighting at Vick's house violated federal law by sponsoring or otherwise taking part in fights for which animals were transported across state lines. Vick has denied any involvement in dogfighting. Regardless, by giving such a detailed account in court documents, prosecutors are sending strong signals about their investigation's focus.

-Vick was charged two days later, and he pled guilty about a month after that, changing the landscape of the Falcons, the NFL, and the sporting world.