Ron Mexico - Dog Fighter

Michael Vick’s been indicted for running a dog fighting ring. While he's had indiscretions in the past, he really went for the ring this time with a federal indictment. In a related note, Marcus Vick is leaving for Canada to club baby seals in an effort to regain his title as the worst Vick brother. Once again, I am amazed at how stupid professional athletes can be. Jamal Lewis, Bam Morris and Tamarick Vanover were busted for investing their money in drug distributing. WTF? Who gives these guys investment advice? Haven’t they ever heard of real estate or the stock market or mutual funds? And if you are going to invest in something illegal, make sure the feds won’t get involved. As many have noted in this case, federal authorities have much bigger budgets and a tendency to win their cases (95% conviction rate). They also like to hit big targets to make an example. Since they can’t charge everybody, they hope getting a big name will make news and others will be deterred. That’s why the IRS targeted NBA referees when they wanted to make an example of people who downgrade employer bought first class airline tickets, keep the difference and don’t pay taxes on it. It made headlines. The USDA was just given new authority to nail people involved in dog fighting. You think they didn’t want a high profile case to let people know about it?

Now, does this mean Vick is guilty? No, but I would have to get astronomical odds to put my money on his innocence. You buy the property, build the kennel, own the dogs, but don’t know they are being used for fighting. Yeah, I’ll buy that one. Even if Vick was unaware that dog fighting was now a federal offense (and wasn’t smart enough to realize gambling and tax evasion that go with it are also federal crimes), how stupid can you be to taint your image like that? Vick has basically been a mediocre NFL quarterback, but he sells tickets and jerseys because he’s exciting to watch. Getting caught in something like dog fighting is brain numbing stupid. Hey Mike, come advertise my product now. Actually, the dog fighting would be bad enough although some people will shrug their shoulders because dogs fight on their own. Well, so do kids, but good luck organizing the local middle school into a bare knuckles fight club (I know, I tried). Vick’s little operation went beyond just fighting. They were killing dogs if they lost their fights or if they just didn’t seem like they “tested” well. And they didn’t put them to sleep either. No, they seemed to go out of their way to make the deaths as unpleasant as possible. Hanging, electrocution and drowning were used. In one case, a dog was repeatedly slammed to the ground to kill it. You spend $20K for a fight purse, but won’t spend money on pentobarbital to put them to sleep? Hell, shooting them would be more humane not to mention faster and easier. You don’t have to be a dog lover to see these are some sick, twisted bastards.

Now, what does it mean for football and the Falcons? Well, it doesn’t look too good for Atlanta. That should make Phil happy because he used talk about how much he hated Atlanta. I can’t remember if it was the city or the team, because I wasn’t really paying attention. Anyway, John Clayton thinks the commissioner and Falcons have to wait until the legal situation plays out before doing anything about Vick. Of course, that could happen right in the middle of the season. Actually, Clayton is wrong about that. Pacman Jones wasn’t convicted of anything when he was suspended by the league, although he had multiple run-ins with the police. And Jason Cole is saying Vick is expected to be suspended by the league, and he doesn’t even mention the gambling angle which is also a bullet in the NFL’s gun. As for the Falcons, why can’t they do something about it? It would be tough to cut him right now because if he’s convicted and goes to jail, the Falcons could try to get back some of the signing bonus money they gave him. Plus, there are salary cap reasons. However, any team can suspend a player up to four games for “conduct detrimental to the team”, and tarnishing your team’s image qualifies. At the very least, they can bench him. As I said, he’s been a mediocre quarterback, but that was offset by his ability to sell tickets. That ability to sell tickets may be hampered by people boycotting his team.

Besides, as Clayton pointed out, how well could he play with this hanging over his head? Of course, Clayton also thinks that Joey Harrington wouldn’t be able to get the Falcons into the playoffs, but he fails to mention that Vick only got Atlanta into the playoffs twice in six years (this is why I didn’t like it when Clayton and Sean Salisbury debated on ESPN – both are pretty dumb). Now, Len Pasquarelli thinks Vick has been more focused and worked harder in this offseason than ever, although at least he didn’t say he thinks Vick will have a good year. Pasquarelli is a moron. No way to get around that. First off, he’s a friend of Vick’s agent so he lacks credibility. Plus, he says this situation is a “test of loyalty” for Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank. Excuse me? Does Blank owe Vick any loyalty? After all, Blank paid Vick millions more than his on-field performance merited, and this is how Vick pays him back? The face of the Falcons getting indicted for dog fighting which could lead to the team not having their starting quarterback at some point this year? I don’t think Blank’s loyalty should be in question.

I think the Falcons need to shut him down. To begin with, you don’t know how long you have him because he could go to trial during the season. As Lester Munson pointed out, the federal court that has jurisdiction over this case moves quickly. Plus, the NFL could suspend him. Frankly, I have to agree with Clayton on the point that he won’t play well with this going on. So, get Harrington ready and stick with him during the season. And what happens if Vick plays and has a good year? Hey, it could happen. Maybe Vick was never focused before because he spent too much of the offseason with his hobby. Now that they’ve seized his dogs, he’s got plenty of time to actually read the playbook. So, he has a good year. Then gets convicted but no serious jail time. With the stigma, do the Falcons feel pressure to keep him? Get rid of the problem. Get rid of him.

Of course, an even more important question is how will it affect fantasy football. Granted, Vick has long been a disappointment as an every week quarterback, but how far should he be downgraded from that? I’m thinking quite a bit. Do you really want your backup quarterback to have a possible conviction/suspension hanging over his head? Hopefully it will have been played out to some extent by draft day, but if not, it’s something to think about. And how does it affect Harrington’s draft position? If there is a possibility of suspension for Vick, does Harrington become a sleeper pick? Not sure about that. Coach Bobby Petrino has always had good quarterback play, but Joey Harrington kind of stinks. If Vick isn’t suspended but plays with the ax waiting to fall, will the circus affect the rest of the team? I think it has to. How often is an active NFL player and best known player on his team under federal indictment.