Michael Vick was told not to attend the Atlanta Falcons' training camp while the National Football League reviews his indictment for allegedly participating in an interstate dog-fighting operation.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement yesterday that the review would be completed "as soon as possible'' and that it expects Vick's full cooperation. Falcons owner Arthur Blank will hold a news conference today to address the issue.
The Falcons' Pro Bowl quarterback was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges he sponsored dog fights at a home he owns in Smithfield, Virginia. His first court appearance will be in Richmond, Virginia, on July 26, the same day the Falcons open training camp in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the personal conduct policy,'' Goodell wrote to Vick as quoted in the league statement.
In April, Goodell revised the league's personal-conduct policy, suspending Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones for a season after five arrests and no convictions and banning Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry for half the season after a series of arrests on charges including drunk driving and providing alcohol to minors.
Support
The revision, supported by players, owners and union leaders, allows Goodell to impose punishment "even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime.''
Michael McCann, a professor at the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, said the Vick case tests support for the new policy because the league's action is ahead of the legal process.
"It's a vague document and now we're seeing where it could be contested,'' McCann said today in a telephone interview. "Now we have someone accused of maiming and killing dogs, but let's say there's some less-awful situation in the future. Does this set a precedent where Goodell wields unlimited power?''
Goodell directed the Falcons to withhold any possible team punishment for Vick until the NFL's review is complete. Vick, 27, won't forfeit preseason pay during his absence from training camp, the league said.
Vick's lawyer, Lawrence Woodward, and agent, Joel Segal, didn't return telephone messages left at their offices.
Protests
Several dozen animal-rights advocates gathered yesterday outside the Falcons' headquarters in Flowery Branch to call for Vick's suspension, a protest organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the NFL took an important first step in banning Vick from training camp.
"Officials from the NFL rightly recognized that it just cannot be business as usual for Vick and the Falcons with this chilling set of facts laid out in the federal indictment,'' Pacelle said in a statement. "It is our sincerest hope that Michael Vick not suit up for play prior to the resolution of these serious charges in federal court.''
The first of the Falcons' four preseason games is scheduled Aug. 10. Atlanta opens the NFL's regular season Sept. 9 in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Vikings.
1,000 Yards
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Vick is coming off a season in which he became the first NFL quarterback to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He also had a career-high 20 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Falcons went 7-9.
Vick has 71 touchdown passes and 52 interceptions during his six seasons with the Falcons, who selected him with the first pick in the 2001 NFL draft. Atlanta has had two winning seasons with Vick at quarterback and is 2-2 in the playoffs.
According to the indictment, "Bad Newz Kennels'' used the Smithfield property purchased by Vick in 2001 to house and train pit bulls used in dog fights.
The operation started about two months after Vick signed a six-year, $62 million contract with the Falcons in May 2001, the indictment said.
Participants established purses as high as $26,000 for the fights, which lasted until the death or surrender of the losing dog. The indictment said losing dogs were sometimes killed by drowning, hanging, gunshot or electrocution.
Vick faces as much as five years in prison and fines of as much as $250,000 for the interstate commerce part of the charge, and one year in prison and $100,000 fines on the dog-fighting charge, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Vick signed a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons in December 2004 that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said includes $37 million in guaranteed money. He has a base salary of $6 million this year. NFL contracts, unlike those in Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, aren't fully guaranteed.
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