Vick Suspended Indefinitely without Pay

This from today's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/sports/football/25vick.html?ref=football



After Plea, Vick Is Given Suspension by the N.F.L.

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and JUDY BATTISTA
Published: August 25, 2007
The National Football League suspended Michael Vick indefinitely without pay yesterday after he admitted in court papers that he paid for dogfighting bets and helped kill underperforming dogs.


The 27-year-old Vick, the Atlanta Falcons’ star quarterback, will be out for at least the 2007 N.F.L. season and probably much longer. If he serves a year in prison — the sentence recommended in the plea agreement — he will probably not be eligible to play again until 2009.
Vick’s admissions came in a plea agreement filed at the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va., where he is expected to plead guilty formally on Monday to felony charges of conspiring to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal-fighting venture.


Also Monday, the federal judge in the case, Henry E. Hudson, is expected to schedule a sentencing hearing, probably for November.


N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell told Vick in a letter that his actions were “cruel and reprehensible” and that Vick’s involvement in gambling was a violation of the N.F.L.’s personal conduct policy.


By accepting the plea deal, Vick said he would cooperate with the investigation regarding any criminal activity.


He also said that he did not place side bets on any of the fights and did not share in the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels, but he said that he was present when his co-defendants placed bets.


Vick said that he agreed to the killing of “approximately 6 to 8 dogs that did not perform well in ‘testing’ sessions,” adding that “all the dogs were killed by various methods, including hanging and drowning.”


He agreed to pay restitution for the costs associated with the 53 pit bulls that authorities have held as evidence since they were seized from his property in April. The costs, the plea agreement said, include the “long-term care and/or the humane euthanasia of some or all of those animals as may be directed by the court in this case.”


In Goodell’s letter to Vick, he said that he would review the suspension after legal proceedings were concluded.


He said that in reviewing the suspension, he would take into consideration the possibility of new charges; Vick’s conduct; his sentence; and how much Vick cooperated with the league and the law enforcement officials.


“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 N.F.L. Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an N.F.L. player,” Goodell’s letter said.


Not long after Vick was suspended, Nike announced that it had severed ties with Vick, who had been endorsing Nike products since 2001, when he was picked No. 1 over all in the N.F.L. draft.
The suspension gives the N.F.L. the flexibility to reconsider Vick’s suspension at every step: after he is sentenced; if charges are brought in Surry County, Va., where Vick owned the property on which the kennel was located; or after he has served time.


Vick’s lead defense lawyer, Billy Martin, said in a written statement: “While Mr. Vick is not personally charged with or responsible for committing all of the acts alleged in the indictment, as with any conspiracy charge, he is taking full responsibility for his actions and the actions of the others involved.”


Martin said Vick would make a public statement soon.


Even if Vick were reinstated in time for the 2009 season, he would not have thrown a ball in competition in two seasons, and would surely have lost some of his speed — one of his best weapons.


The suspension frees the Atlanta Falcons to pursue, before an arbitrator, a portion of Vick’s $37 million signing bonus because he is now in default of his 10-year, $130 million contract, one of the league’s richest. The Falcons could also decide to release Vick. Their decision is expected Monday.


“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.”


In a telephone interview, Daniel C. Richman, a professor at Columbia University School of Law and a former assistant United States attorney, said of Vick’s plea agreement, “It could lead to an investigation that could go in an entirely different direction, and he could be used to testify in front of a grand jury investigating other matters.”


RelatedPlea Agreement (U.S. v. Michael Vick)Statement of FactsIndictment