Aug. 25 - The National Football League suspended Michael Vick indefinitely without pay yesterday, hours after he admitted conspiring to run a dogfighting operation that Commissioner Roger Goodell called “cruel and reprehensible.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback indefinitely without pay hours after Vick filed a plea agreement that portrayed him as less involved than three co-defendants and guilty mainly of poor judgment for associating with them in a dogfighting operation..
Goodell said in a letter to Vick that the actions of the 27-year-old former No. 1 draft selection had hurt the league, its fans and his team. Vick’s plea agreement and those of his three co-defendants, he said, also“demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling.”
“Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.”
Goodell said he would review the status of Vick’s suspension after legal proceedings concluded and said the Falcons were “now free to assert any claims or remedies available to them,” under Vick’s contract or the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players.
“You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league’s personal conduct policy,” Goodell told Vick in a letter after meeting in New York with Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay.
The Falcons could seek to recoup some of Vick’s bonus money he received in 2004 when he signed a 10-year, $130 million deal.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement that Vick’s “admissions describe actions that are incomprehensible and unacceptable for a member of the National Football League and the Atlanta Falcons.”
Vick was charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in an animal-fighting venture. The summary of facts he signed as part of his plea agreement said he never bet on the dogfights or received any winnings.
“Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights,” the summary said. “Vick did not receive any of the proceeds from the purses that were won” by Bad Newz Kennels, which he operated.
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said in a telephone interview that reports suggested Vick might serve between one and two years in jail, though Judge Henry Hudson has discretion to impose up to the maximum five-year sentence. Vick is expected to formally enter a guilty plea before Hudson on Aug. 27.
“His admissions describe actions that are incomprehensible and unacceptable for a member of the National Football League and the Atlanta Falcons,” the Falcons’ owner, Arthur Blank, said in a statement.
He added, “As with other actions he has taken this year, the Commissioner is making a strong statement that conduct which tarnishes the good reputation of the N.F.L. will not be tolerated.”
Blank also said, “We hope that Michael will use this time, not only to further address his legal matters, but to take positive steps to improve his personal life.”