July 19, 2007
Dog pens and houses are empty in a fenced area behind a home owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in Surry, Va., in this May 31, 2007 file photo.
Yes, yes, I know. An indictment is not a conviction.
We need to observe due process. I know that, too.
However . . .
I'm having a hard time looking at the rather handsome face of Michael Vick right now. I can tell you that much. What he and his codefendants are accused of are despicable acts. I realize that dogs are not human beings and that, in the grandest scheme of things, people should focus more on the Ray Lewis murder coverup and the Pacman Jones involvement in a man becoming paralyzed for life, but the idea that in this day and age someone would organize dogfighting is utterly repugnant.
Somebody did something here, and according to the 18-page indictment issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, one of those somebodies was the starting quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. By the way, you may know him as Michael Vick, but the indictment claims that in the shadowy dogfighting world in which he is alleged to have been immersed, he was known as "Ookie."
Said indictment said the foursome consisted of Purnell A. Peace, a.k.a."P-Funk" or "Funk"; Quanis L. Phillips, a.k.a. "Q;" and Tony Taylor, a.k.a. "T."
The indictment makes for some powerful and sickening reading, and if you ask if I am outraged in part because I am a dog owner, the answer is yes, and so what? It's just an extra layer of outrage. I'd like to think I'd be working myself up into this agitated state even if the animals in question were, well, cats.
State and Federal officials carry out coolers of evidence to a truck as they search the grounds behind the home owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in Smithfield, Va., in this July 6, 2007 file photo. During an April 25 drug raid at the property, authorities seized 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and equipment commonly used in dog fighting. A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Vick on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, in its investigation of illegal dog fighting.
As to what it could all lead to, the answer to that one is very simple: hard time. If Michael Vick -- excuse me, "Ookie" -- and his fellow defendants are convicted of all charges, they could be looking at something like six years in the pen. Given that Vick is in the middle of a $130 million contract and is also a major endorser, participation in this venture would have to be put in the "bad judgment" category, wouldn't you think?
Lester Munson of ESPN.com is probably the foremost American sports investigative journalist, and he paints a pretty grim picture for Ookie and friends. "Vick is in real trouble," Munson says, and he goes on from there. The government, he points out, is on a roll, having just taken out the vice president's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, media mogul Conrad Black, and former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, all of whom, as Munson puts it, "thought they could explain their way out from under federal charges. And all three were convicted." There are, Munson reminds us, many skilled, clever defense lawyers out there. Ookie will need one or two. Fortunately for Ookie, he can afford them.
My guess is that Roger Goodell has an opinion on all this.
The new NFL commissioner has established himself as a champion of internal law and order during his brief tenure, but this case is different than the others. It was relatively easy to put down incorrigible recidivists such as Pacman Jones and Chris Henry on that basis alone. Enough, the commissioner said, was enough. Police encounter after police encounter after police encounter will no longer be tolerated, even if one or two of them is for jaywalking. We prefer that your name be confined to the sports page, so we're going to have you take a timeout. Even the Players Association recognizes that the commissioner had a right to protect the league's image.
Eris Banks of Conyers, Ga., shows his support for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick during a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincincinnati Reds in Atlanta, Wednesday, July 18, 2007. Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation so grisly the losers either died in the pit or sometimes were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot.
Now Goodell is confronted with Vick, charged with an odious crime against civilized society. He's actually kind of a half previous offender, what with that nonsense about the secret compartment in his water bottle (Did you, like me, say, "What?"). But no one cares any longer about the stupid water bottle. We're all interested in this dogfighting business, and if you're Goodell, you must decide what, if anything (it's just an indictment, remember), to do with the Falcons' starting quarterback, whose jersey just happens to be the No. 2 seller going.
If you've read the indictment, you know that, at the very least, Michael/Ookie has a lot of 'splainin' to do. His initial response to the charge was that, well, yeah, I own the house, but I'm never there, and how can I monitor what my cousin was doing? Then neighbors were quoted as saying they've actually seen quite a lot of Michael/Ookie in the six years since he purchased the property, so we'll see where that goes.
What the feds say in the indictment is that Michael/Ookie was thoroughly involved in every phase of the dogfighting operation from, as Munson puts it, "from beginning to end." And if that happens to be the case, the only question you will have when it's all over and they're all convicted is, "Why are these people only getting six years?"
This is going to be very messy. I'm not saying that people excuse things such as covering up a murder or an innocent bouncer winding up paralyzed, but they are a sad, regrettable byproduct of other people's actions. It amazes me that Ray Lewis has skated away from an incident in which someone was killed as smoothly and deftly as he has. Either people have forgiven him or they don't want to know.
But the idea of being an active participant in the horrific act of dogs tearing each other apart for "sport" and betting purposes will not go down well in a country that has an unquenchable love affair with its household pets, dogs in particular. All dog owners know how gut-wrenching it is when your beloved pet is either killed or must be put down. We are unable to wrap our heads around the idea of dogs attempting to kill each other for someone's amusement, and we cannot remotely relate to anyone who enjoys it.
I really cannot imagine a scenario in which Goodell will give his approval to someone accused of this loathsome crime representing his league. As justification, he can invoke the "Common Sense" or "Too Hot To Handle" clause inherent in his job description. And I cannot imagine there would be anything in this for Gene Upshaw. The Players Association needs this?
In a best-case scenario, the Falcons will make any Goodell decision moot by removing Vick from uniform, effective immediately. It's just common sense. At the very least, I foresee the largest People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protests yet known wherever the Falcons play (or train). Ordinarily, I find the PETA people rather extreme and preposterous, but they would find themselves with countless new allies on this issue.
If owner Arthur Blank is going to run the Falcons with any integrity, he will distance himself and his organization from this business ASAP.
There is no competition issue. His team isn't going to the Super Bowl, with or without Michael Vick. Mr. Blank can't hide behind legalities or pay attention to any potential squawking from his new coach, Bobby Petrino. If the Falcons wind up with some empty seats as a result of losing Vick, Goodell can send him a check from the petty cash drawer.
Yes, yes, it's just an indictment.
Read it, please. It's easily available. See what happened to the dogs involved. It's an indictment, all right.
Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment