Dog is man’s best friend, not in this case though. In papers filed Friday in federal court in Richmond, Va., Vick has admitted guilt in the killing of at least six dogs in April and for funding a dogfighting operation based in one of his rural Virginia homes.
In a letter to the 27-year-old Vick, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote: “Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.”
Goodell continues to say Vick’s circumstances are of his own making, the results of decisions Vick made and of his own conduct.
Vick’s attorneys say their client’s involvement in Bad Newz Kennels was limited.
“Mr. Vick apologizes for his poor judgment in associating himself with those involved in dog fighting and realizes he should never have been involved in this conduct,” a statement from Vick’s attorneys says.
For his part, Vick admits that he personally executed “under performing” dogs by electrocuting, drowning, and hanging them after fights. In a macabre attempt to demonstrate he isn’t completely amoral, he denies ever betting on the reprehensible sports he sponsored or pocketing money from those battles. When it comes to profiting from these evil events, it’s nice to know that even a confessed sadist has “standards.”
Appalling acts of brutality against animals aren’t new. What shocks the conscience in this case is that one of the most talented and well-compensated athletes of his generation was willing to exchange his humanity - and a life that was set - for cheap, bloody thrills.
Doubly frightening is the realization that a culture of dogfighting exists in America’s under-class that has gone unnoticed by the mainstream. As this once-impoverished
Maybe a good dose of community service would be going to his local Humane Society and having to spend his time cleaning out the scum from all the cages. Maybe then the dogs can reap some revenge.