Vick Charged With Felony! (CLANRAM EXCLUSIVE: COPY OF INDICTMENT)

[general counsel]

i dont think it dooms his nfl career at all. conviction and jail is one thing, but for now, if he performs, he will play. the falcons wont cut him, he is presumed innocent. If they cut him, they have a huge cap hit. if they stand by him and he gets convicted, they can cut him then and save the money. If there was a way for arthur blanc to cut him and not kill his own team with the cap hit, he might well take that course, but i dont think its doable.

As always, the biggest issue with vick is his inaccuracy, his failure to improve and his bad decision making, both on and off the field.

His athletic ability means that pending a LOT more evidence, someone will have him on the field, even if its not the falcons.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[r8rh8rmike]

i dont think it dooms his nfl career at all. conviction and jail is one thing, but for now, if he performs, he will play. the falcons wont cut him, he is presumed innocent.

I agree with you GC. AS long as this thing is going through the process, he'll survive. He'll most likely also survive if his legal team can get an acquittal, but if he's convicted for any small part, pleads to a lesser charge or makes a deal, he's doomed IMO.

[ramsanddodgers]

Words cannot state how disgusted I was when this broke on the news wire. I cannot even consider Vick and his ilk to be a person, hard enough to think he could be human.

I realize this stuff goes on just as cockfighting but outside some backwards areas cohabited by inbreds it is reserved for 3rd world nations.

This makes me so uptight I cannot even put rational thoughts together to state how sick Vick and his cohorts are.

[UtterBlitz]

I can't see Vick playing in the NFL again. This is far too disgusting and obnoxious for them to ignore. I will be surprised if he starts this year.

Poor pups.....it is sad to see what some people are capable of.

[Nick]

Interesting write-up on Yahoo Sports...

Vick is expected to be suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after news broke Tuesday evening that Vick was indicted by federal authorities in connection with dog fighting in Virginia. The indictment followed a three-month investigation.

While Goodell was not reached for comment, two sources said the commissioner has been monitoring the Vick case since April, when investigators initially found evidence of dog fighting at a home Vick owned in Smithfield.

"Where (Vick) is in the most trouble is that he lied to the commissioner," a league source said. "He told (Goodell) in April that he didn't know anything about this. The commissioner gave (Vick) every chance to come clean, be straight about what was going on. Instead, he just kept denying it."

I have no qualms not waiting for a conviction before league punishment is handed down. After all, I don't think Pacman had been convicted prior to his suspension, and this entire incident is a huge black mark against the league. And again, as previously mentioned, this is a federal indictment and those generally have a high conviction rate as it is.

I wonder if Bobby Petrino has already started planning on how to acquire Brian Brohm in the '08 draft...

[r8rh8rmike]

Vick is expected to be suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after news broke Tuesday evening that Vick was indicted by federal authorities in connection with dog fighting in Virginia.

Wow. Bummer.

[itsguud]

While this is terrible, I did pick up Joey Harrington as a back-up QB in my fantasy league!! woop woop!

[laram0]

Here's how I want it to go down. (assuming he's guilty)

1. Suspended from the NFL forever
2. 6 Years in the clink, at least
3. Massive fines in the 7 figure range.


The only chains I want see Vick moving are the ones that will be around his ankles!!!

[general counsel]

According to what i heard on the local tv reports here in atlanta, vick is a first time offender under the leagues new conduct policy and thus, the commissioner may not be able to do much unless he is convicted or pleads guilty. The story was NOT in the context of lying to the commissioner, which is another story completely.

Meanwhile, anyone that wants to bet me 5 cents that vick will play in the nfl again, i am happy to take that bet. He will be the falcons starter on day one in my opinion.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[UtterBlitz]

Meanwhile, anyone that wants to bet me 5 cents that vick will play in the nfl again, i am happy to take that bet. He will be the falcons starter on day one in my opinion.

I'll take that bet.....I don't think he will play this year. He should get to go to training camp, but I don't believe that he will play in any games.

[Rambos]

"Where (Vick) is in the most trouble is that he lied to the commissioner

Yep, lied big time to the commissioner. If i where the Falcons I would ask him to stay home, until he's case is over. You know he is going to miss time for liying for one and he will be a big distraction all year. Sign Dante, start Joey.

I'm not saying he is gulity, but he did lie, he knows more then he has stated.

Well, his "Madison Avenue" career is certainly over.

AV,Is is possible that the Falcons get heat from their sponsers, to suspend him, sit him, cut him?

[Nick]

According to what i heard on the local tv reports here in atlanta, vick is a first time offender under the leagues new conduct policy and thus, the commissioner may not be able to do much unless he is convicted or pleads guilty.

Maybe, maybe not. Vick may be a first time offender in the sense that this is the first time he's been charged or indicted, but the indictment (which can be seen in its entirety here) claims these actions have been going on since early 2001. One may conclude that Vick is only a first time offender because this is the first time he was caught and charged, not because he only committed the offense once - he's been doing it for six years, according to the indictment.

Also, there are other concerns that could cause Goodell to waver on treating Vick like a typical first time offender and/or taking action before a verdict. First and foremost, Vick sat in front of Goodell in April and told him he had nothing to do with this. Even if the eventual result isn't a conviction (I suspect it will be though based on the success rates), the fact that a federal grand jury viewed the evidence and decided that charges could be brought really seems to suggest to me that Vick isn't completely uninvolved as he claimed to Goodell.

Additionally, the indictment specified that Vick's involvement included intent to promote, manage, etc. a "business enterprise involving gambling." The league takes association with gambling very seriously, so that being mentioned specifically in the indictment works against Vick as well.

So I'm not so sure how Goodell proceeds here. I wouldn't want to be him, that's for sure. My biggest question is, if Goodell does take action, does the NFLPA come to Vick's defense?

[AvengerRam]

AV,Is is possible that the Falcons get heat from their sponsers, to suspend him, sit him, cut him?

I'm not sure the extent to which teams are motivated by sponsors. If fans stop showing up... that's another story.

[jkramsfan]

Interesting write-up on Yahoo Sports...



I have no qualms not waiting for a conviction before league punishment is handed down. After all, I don't think Pacman had been convicted prior to his suspension, and this entire incident is a huge black mark against the league. And again, as previously mentioned, this is a federal indictment and those generally have a high conviction rate as it is.

I wonder if Bobby Petrino has already started planning on how to acquire Brian Brohm in the '08 draft...

did anyone think he would tell Goodell the truth, Yes Mr. Goodell I took part in dog fighting,c'mon this guy is a punk,he thought he would skate by on this, you don't suspend him because he lied,who cares about that,you kick his a** out of the league for the disgusting crime he has been tied to.this is a very horrible crime and he should never see the field again,I'm sure he will but he shouldn't.

[Varg6]

Disgusting. If Vick is guilty or not, just bringing up the subject of "dog fights" makes me sick to my stomach. How can anyone find joy out of that? It is just so sickening to see that a cruel sport called dog fighting even exists. I've always liked Vick, and he's brought a lot of hype to the NFL with his talent, but if he truly did do this, I will have lost all respect for this man and he should honestly be banned for life.