imatreat's Blog

Well what most of us knew already, has become true today, as Atlanta Falcons Quarterback, Michael Vick's attorney, Billy Martin announced today that his client intends to enter a plea of guilty to take a deal. Under the deal, Vick will probably have to serve a year in Federal Prison and pay a lofty fine. Vick had to decide by today whether to accept the plea agreement or the case would go to trial, in which Vick could have served up to ten years if found guilty. The evidence was overwhelmingly against him, as two of his former associates from "Bad Newz Kennels", their dog fighting operation, had basically thrown Vick under the bus, saying he financed the whole thing and was in on the gambling and destroying of the losing dogs.

It is a very sad story all the way around. When Vick was drafted by the Falcons, he was a marketing tool. At one time, his #7 Vick jersey was the hottest selling jersey in the NFL, by an almost 2-1 margin. He had a few commercials nationally, and a lot more locally in Atlanta and Virginia. He was the face of the franchise. Along with Hank Aaron and Dominique Wilkens, he was one of the largest names in Atlanta sports history. A few years ago, he signed a 10 year, $130 million dollar contract. However, as much talent as Vick had on the field, his problems off the field have been just as huge. He and his brother, Marcus, have been in and out of trouble with the law, since their school days. There was the infamous water bottle incident at the airport, where a water bottle had a "secret compartment" and had a marijuana smell. Then there was the picture of him floating around a MySpace sight, that had him smoking a blunt. But this dogfighting business is the worst of them all.

In my opinion, he's getting off too light. What they said that "Bad Newz Kennels" did to these dogs when they lost, is beyond contemptible. If it were up to me, you could lock him up and throw away the key, not to mention, I'd like to turn some mean dogs on him and see how he likes it. Anyone who abuses animals like that, should be punished just as much as if you harm a human being, even more so, because they can't fight back as much. Sure they have teeth, but that basically it.

Also, if it were up to me, he'd never play another game in the NFL again. If I were NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, he'd get a lifetime ban. If Pete Rose got banned for life, for gambling on baseball, Vick should get a lifetime ban too for murdering these helpless animals and turning them into killers and doing it for gambling purposes. To me, that's an offense that warrants a lifetime ban. The person I feel sorry for is Falcons owner Arthur Blank. He put a lot of his credibility and his finances behind Vick. Not only does he have to deal with this unwanted media circus now, but he has to deal with the aftermath, which includes a fan base that still believes Vick didn't do anything wrong. Yes, you heard me right, a recent poll of Falcons fans, a majority of them still think Vick didn't do anything wrong. One guy said, "it's just a little dogfighting, come on." That statement is almost as offensive as what Vick did. A lot of Falcons fans have threatened to give up their season tickets, if Vick is cut by the Falcons. So, Blank really is in a no-win situation. You've heard of a story where there are no winners. This is a textbook example of that. Blank loses, Atlanta Falcons fans lose, the NFL loses, the poor dogs lose, and most of all, the Hundred-Million Dollar Quarterback, with a bright future has lost, too. The only thing about it, is he has no one to blame but himself. In listening to an interview with Vick's first NFL coach, Dan Reeves, he told Vick that one of these days, the people he associates with are going to get him into a lot of trouble. Well, he'll have about a year behind bars to ponder that statement. However, he can also ponder, that he's getting off light. And, it's a dog-gone shame, literally.