Ban Michael Vick

But... Pacman had previous convictions, and was arrested 9 other times before he was involved in a shooting.

The thing is, no one gave Goodell the authority to suspend a first time offender, before conviction.The union would be very upset.

Agreed, and rightly so. It kind of throws out the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing.

But if he is guilty, I hope he's banned for life and ends up as somebody's wife in prison.

Nike has already suspended the planned M Vick line of products.

As for guilty or not, those who made the point that it is up to the NFL to decide his proffesional fate have it correctly. If the NFL sees the petition and the bad press as enough of a negative to the league they will ban him.

First off, any online petition is useless. If it is not a petition that requires a personal signature with the name and address of the signer, then it is worthless to the NFL as well as any court. So, it is a waste of time to fill out that petition. You would be better off sending a letter to the NFL with your signature on it. Even if it was a form letter that you could print out, sign and then mail off. it takes some effort but would prove more benificial than an on line petition that any one can fake signatures on.

On a side note, it is my belief that as an NFL player and influence to others, he should be suspended pending the results of the trial. In my job (I am the director of security for a company in Minnesota), I would be suspended immediately if I was accused of a crime. Professional sports stars should be held to the same standards.

Actually they did. The union gave Goodell the authority to excersize punitive actions against anybody first time offender or not as he sees fit.
The union can lodge an appeal, but the decision of the appeal is also made by Goodell.

Again... autocracy not democracy rules in the NFL.
You can try and apply the innocent until proven guilty all you want, but past history indicates that your guilty until enough time has passed that they can slip you back into the organisation without people really noticing.
Nobody wants one of there star players with the kind of publicity Vick is bringing, not the owners not the players. They will ban him now and if he's proven innocent, let him back in later when nobodys really watching anymore.

Personally, I think this writer has it correct:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/07/19/sit.vick/1.html

The Falcons' ownership needs to step up and find a way to keep Vick off the field until this plays out.

All I know is that WHEN he's found guilty, he should be fined however much money he made in his NFL carreer. And banned from the NFL......

Stunned Monkey. That is a fantastic piece. It says it all. Thanks for posting.

Giny's right about not buying any "Vick Endorsed" products.

You can take it further by watching the Falcon games and making a note of who advertises on the telecasts.

Then write each sponsor letting them know that not only will you not ever again buy another one of their products, but as long as they sponsor Falcon games on TV you will make it a point to buy from their direct competitors.

Say Budweiser buys ad time on a Falcon telecast. Write Budweiser and tell them that you're through buying Bud, and from now on you're drinking Miller. Let them know it's because they support a team who supports Michael Vick.

It doesn't have to be true. Maybe you don't drink beer. But a little BS could go a long way.

If you're watching a Falcon game and see a commercial for Dodge Trucks, write Dodge a letter. Let them know you were going to buy a Dodge Truck, but because they support the Falcons, and the Falcons support Vick, you're going to buy a Chevrolet Truck instead.

Enough people mess with their money, or give the appearance their money's being messed with, and you will see results.

So now, with all the hoopla, thinks with all the news media, talk radio, and internet attention this case is getting Vick will get a fair trial?

It's probably great for Vick. By the time you weed out those who have listened to the media coverage and already formed an opinion, you'll end up with the twelve dumbest people on the planet sitting on the jury. Defense attorneys love the "easily confused." Think O.J.

I doubt it goes to trial anyway. Some kind of plea will be worked out I'm sure.

I think the trial part will be as fair as any other celebutard trial. There are enough people who don't read the sports section and have no idea who he is that they can get a jury. His problem will be the fed charges, like I've read, when they indict you, they rarely lose.

i thought this was an interesting read about what the charges are, exactly, and what it will take to prove them.

Hey Vick, how do you like this, you miserable piece of crap?
http://news.aol.com/sports/story/_a...p/20070723212409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
"NFL orders Vick to Stay Out of Camp"

I think it's interesting the road they have taken as far as conspiracy charges go...

He Himself may not be charged with dog fighting, but if one of his co conspirators is convicted of dog fighting, he can still go to jail for it.
Interesting the way the legal system works... you don't have to be guilty of something, so long as a friend is guilty, you're guilty.

How does his being involved in dog fighting have anything to do with playing in the NFL? Football is just a GAME, who the hell cares? If he's guilty, he should be arrested for the crime and thrown in jail. People put too much importance on sports.

Well, if you read the link that TM provided you'll find interesting quotes like this one:

No, I think it's great that the commissioner is taking action, but it seems like people are more interested in his getting banned from football than arrested and sent to jail.

If he's guilty I hope he does time. Actually if he's guilty I hope he gets the sh*t beat out of him.

Scooter, these "game players" are kids' HEROES.

What I find amazing is that Pacman Jones has been suspended for a year, but I don't think he's ever been indicited. Yet, the NFL is still waiting to see what happens to Vick. Hypocrites.

And if he indeed is found guilty, I hope he rots in jail.