Yeah, he has gazillions but if he’s as foolish as I believe he is, it ain’t gonna last long.
Given Goodell’s strict nature, and the fact that Michael Vick personally lied to him when he claimed he was not aware of any dog fighting activities on his property, I don’t think Roger will ever let him play in the NFL again.
And I would agree with him.
FWIW, I’ve been listening to sports radio most of the day and they seem to agree Vick will be suspended for at least a year after he is let out of prison. (This matches what happened to the Bears’ Tank Johnson, who was suspended for several games after being released from prison.) He will then have to reapply to Commissioner Roger Gadell for reinstatement. Whether he is reinstated after a year depends on his post-prison conduct and whether allegations of extensive betting on dogfighting are proven. Considering how rusty he would be after 2-3 years out, the fact Vick’s skills almost require you to totally change your team’s style of play, and that it’s hard for a team to sink millions into a pariah like Vick, the odds are he’ll only return as a cheaply paid backup.
He will likely have a guaranteed “position” during his term in prison, serving one of the cell block leaders…
Unless I misunderestimate the NFL’s corporate greed, Vick won’t suffer a permanent ban.
He packs fannies into football stadiums.
So, when he gets out after his 1 year sentence or less, we’ll get a wave of repentance, and a tsunami of PR that he’s suffered enough.
Then back he’ll come.
If I’m proven wrong I’ll be…uh…fool me twice, you ain’t gonna fool me again.
I’m not sure he’ll have a stadium full of fans any time soon.
The NFL is about the mighty dollar first, and I think that’s why Vick will never play again. The powers that be of the NFL are beginning to understand the value of how the league is perceived. There’s long-term value in folks not thinking that every NFL player is a felony waiting to happen. Just look at the commercials that are designed to remind you that they team up work with the United Way doing great things like building playgrounds and cleaning up New Orleans ect… They do that for a reason, to convince you that there are more good guys in the league than bad.
I think the new commissioner looked at the perception of the league and determined that something had to change. Right now the goal of the NFL is not to have Vick, or any one player, put fannies in the seats, it’s for the Falcons (or any team) to do it. Further, it’s for folks at home across the world to care. Those potential fans will care more when they hear that Vick won’t be allowed to play, than the current fans will care less. How many Falcon fans are running to Vick’s defense?
On the subject of being allowed to work after you’ve served your time…the NFL is an elite organization. Let Vick play Arena league football, or better yet, get an honest job, but there’s no reason whatsoever to let him (or any convicted felons) play again.
Correct me, please, if I’m wrong, but aren’t there state criminal charges being prepared against him?
Googling
Ah. So there are. Assuming that the plea on the federal charges has no bearing on what the Virginia AG decides to do, Vick could be in a lot more legal trouble, trouble that could make moot any speculation about his future after federal prison.
I hope opposing teams playing Falcons’ away games dig up a bunch of dog-themed music to blast over the loudspeakers.
Who Let the Dogs Out?
Hound Dog
etc.
Is it possible that Vick is pleading to the criminal charges of cruelty to animals in return for the guarantee that the DA will not come after him for the gambling charges, thus keeping his career intact?
I doubt the NFL would subscribe to the idea that gambling is okay so long as you can avoid a conviction.
I guess the real lesson here is don’t mess with people’s pets. Ray Lewis helped cover up a murder and it didn’t generate this much outrage. :eek:
nevermind.
I hope you idealists are proven right - that Vick goes to jail and is banned forever from the NFL.
But if you’re proven wrong, I certainly won’t crow about it. I’ll just mourn.
In fairness it did but he was found not guilty.
I’m not sure Vick will play again but not for any more reasons. In fact, I don’t really think Vick is that good. He’s a great scrambler but a mediocre passer. As such, several years out of the league will slow him down significantly which means he’ll have to rely on a passing game he doesn’t have.
I think he should do whatever sentence the judge pronounces then do whatever someone will hire him to do. If the NFL lets him back, so be it.
In the strange bedfellows dept., PETA is loving this Vick stuff, as it’s giving their cause the kind of publicity money can’t even buy.
Cite.
On the other hand, it’s probably just going to encourage a whole bunch of dumbass ghetto thugs to do it for the “outlaw” factor. :rolleyes:
But he wouldn’t be denied any legal employment. He would only lose the opportunity for that particular job (football) He could get any job that allows ex cons to work.
There are many different jobs that are restricted to ex-cons. Convicted lawyers can be disbarred, the armed services don’t want you (notwithstanding the newer flexibility they have on that issue in their desperation to get new recruits), and good luck getting a job as a cop, bank teller, or any number of jobs that require you to be bondable.
Just because he may not be allowed back in the NFL does not mean he is being denied “any legal employment”.
Question: Given that his main talent as a QB appears to be his scrambling ability, then assuming he can re-enter professional football at all, might he try to come back as a ball carrier* rather than QB, if the glamour position turns out not to be available to him?
*Is that a running back? I haven’t paid attention to football in a long time and have forgotten a lot of the terminology. :o
At an ESPN roundtable type discussion yesterday, Emmit Smith made exactly that point, although he predicted that Vick might be a wide receiver.
No, Lewis struck a deal, had the murder charge against him dropped (apparently there was little evidence that he was personally involved, though he had been present, according to his own testimony), plead to obstruction of justice and testified against his friends. Then his friends were found not guilty. But that doesn’t change what he plead to.