[bushg]

Michael Vick pleads Guilty to the dog fighting charges, could face 1 year to 18 months in prison!! not enough but hopefully he will have to serve some time :)

[CaptainRich]

That sounds too light, IMO.
Part of his parole or probation should be at an animal shelter.
He's made a ton of money (so have his pals that pleaded down)
He's lost bunches of contracts because he's a tainted commodity,
But I still think he should be fined heavily.

[labman]

I saw this elsewhere, but didn't get around to posting it. Thank you for doing it. If this ends his football career, as I certainly hope so, he will have paid an enormous price.

[shygrneyzs]

I saw that on the news and was delighted he even got that much. Community service would be great; cleaning out dog cages, going on pet rescues, maybe getting bit a time or two, would all be fitting.

[shygrneyzs]

Oh yes- video at 9! Lol. Plus on YouTube, VEOH, Google video, and any other internet source known to mankind. Oh and CNN playing it twice an hour for at least 72 hours.

[froggy7]

First, let me say that I am happy that he has pled guilty, and is being punished. But I was struck by a comment that I read from another player, who was wondering why there was all the fuss about Vick when there are players who have been accused of rape and murder who did not get all this attention and demands that they be benched. It does make you wonder why this got the public outraged about this, when they don't about other crimes. Is it the fact that it's animals, or is it just that we are used to seeing stories about sexual assaults, etc. and this was something new?

[RubyPitbull]

I heard the news yesterday afternoon too bushg and didn't have the time to post a comment. I am glad we are spared the trial. I am definitely in agreement he should be fined very heavily and forced to work in a shelter cleaning out cages, caring for all the animals, and learning what the laws are, in addition to serving time in jail.

Interesting question froggy, but I wonder what accusations of rape & murder have gone without notice by law enforcement. If there is something specific this player knows about, he should step forward and name names. I think the other player is full of it, and feels he needs to defend & excuse Vick's behavior. Vick is a very important commodity to his team. He is the team. Without him, they don't have a snowball's chance of winning this season. Too bad he didn't use his head and put his team ahead of his own desires of personal gain through this "side business". The contract he had was a dream come true for any player. He is an idiot for putting his entire professional career at risk over something like this. I fully expect that the owner of his team & the NFL know exactly what the charges are, and knew that he would have a tough time winning against the feds. The owner and his lawyers talked him into pleading and taking a deal. If he went to trial and all the disgusting things that occurred came out, he would not have any chance of getting back in to play ever again. This way, it is done on a much quieter level, they are hopeful it will fade into obscurity, and in two years time when all this is behind him, they are hoping people will forget and forgive. He is an excellent ball player and will still be young enough to be of use to them. It will be very interesting to see what happens down the road.

[wickedimp]

Michael Vick pleads Guilty to the dog fighting charges, could face 1 year to 18 months in prison!!!!!!not enough but hopefully he will have to serve some time :)

Personally the proposed sentence is far too short. Any person (I use this term loosely) who derives pleasure from the suffering of other living creatures really doesn't pass for membership into the human race. These kinds of people make me sick to the quick and were it not for my own morals I'd visit on them what they visit on others.

[labman]

As much as I want to see him hung out to dry on this, it is true others have played on despite criminal acts. How about Mike Tyson? I don't follow sports very much, but I am struggling to remember another promising young player whose career was wrecked by his outside activities.

[CaptainRich]

First, let me say that I am happy that he has pled guilty, and is being punished. But I was struck by a comment that I read from another player, who was wondering why there was all the fuss about Vick when there are players who have been accused of rape and murder who did not get all this attention and demands that they be benched. It does make you wonder why this got the public outraged about this, when they don't about other crimes. Is it the fact that it's animals, or is it just that we are used to seeing stories about sexual assaults, etc., and this was something new?

I have begun to think that the outrage seems to stem from the scope and depth of his HUGE operation. And secondly, the sheer brutality that went on for so long.

It might appear callous to say human victims have slightly more control, at least a modicum of opportunity to flee. But I tend to believe that domesticated animals, even those dogs that were abused in so many ways, were without that opportunity of flight. Unable to communicate their plight to the other "prisoners." Having been locked in cages, waiting, "hoping" that tomorrow my master will bring me something nice...

I would like to see anyone who perpetrates this type of vehemence and betrayal to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

.

[froggy7]

I heard the news yesterday afternoon too bushg and didn't have the time to post a comment. I am glad we are spared the trial. I am definitely in agreement he should be fined very heavily and forced to work in a shelter cleaning out cages, caring for all the animals, and learning what the laws are, in addition to serving time in jail.

Interesting question froggy, but I wonder what accusations of rape & murder have gone without notice by law enforcement. If there is something specific this player knows about, he should step forward and name names. I think the other player is full of it, and feels he needs to defend & excuse Vick's behavior.

Oh, the police know about it. The player charged with murder plead guilty to obstruction of justice in a plea bargain. An athlete convicted of statutory rape of a 14-year-old wound up getting community service, probation, and a fine (community served, by the way, by being a celebrity counselor at youth sports camps, not exactly what I would expect from that charge). That player just got a 4 year contract for $15 million. Not exactly a demand from the public that he be benched or forced to resign, and yet I think that most people like kids as much as they do dogs.

I really do think that at least part of the reason that people are upset about Vick more than they are about the others is that dog fighting is "new". It's not something that we have heard about time after time, unlike the sexual assaults and drug charges. I consider myself a pretty normal person, and even I think that women who go out with athletes and then file sexual assault charges ought to have known better. And then I get sad, because it seems like we should expect much more of athletes than we do.

[RubyPitbull]

Oh, the police know about it. The player charged with murder plead guilty to obstruction of justice in a plea bargain. An athlete convicted of statutory rape of a 14-year-old wound up getting community service, probation, and a fine (community served, by the way, by being a celebrity counselor at youth sports camps, not exactly what I would expect from that charge). That player just got a 4 year contract for $15 million. Not exactly a demand from the public that he be benched or forced to resign, and yet I think that most people like kids as much as they do dogs.

I really do think that at least part of the reason that people are upset about Vick more than they are about the others is that dog fighting is "new". It's not something that we have heard about time after time, unlike the sexual assaults and drug charges. I consider myself a pretty normal person, and even I think that women who go out with athletes and then file sexual assault charges ought to have known better. And then I get sad, because it seems like we should expect much more of athletes than we do.

You may have a point there. I don't know the cases that are being referred to (murder/rape). It may be that it has more to do with what the media chooses to focus their attention on. That is usually a result of who is screaming the loudest.

[bushg]

The judge sentenced Michael Vick to 23 months in prison.

[CaptainRich]

The judge sentenced Michael Vick to 23 months in prison.

He'll probably only serve a portion of that. I hope he does his time in the kennels! :mad:

[labman]

That is 2 football seasons. The real punishment will come the third season if his presence causes a major attendance drop.

The saddest part is what some others have been punished less for.