The Michael Vick Story

[SlowwHand]

He's backing himself into a corner. The state is after him on separate charges. This is real bad and getting worse all the time.

"Carry the one...See kids? Stay in school."

[Dis]

Originally posted by AAHZ
if Vick snitches on some NFL players then he will be a marked man regardless if he does time...

snitching is a BIG no-no.

he doesn't work for the mafia now. NFL players aren't that tough. They are really wimps, and wouldn't do anything to Vick. Maybe beat him up at the most.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Dis
he doesn't work for the mafia now. NFL players aren't that tough. They are really wimps, and wouldn't do anything to Vick. Maybe beat him up at the most.

Actually, they don't have to beat him up. All they have to do is not play hard for him. Even if some owner is stupid enough to give him another chance in the future, he needs the support of his team to make it work. Without that support, his carreer is over.

[DanS]

This is only partially Vick's fault. I bet everybody throughout his life except the law has let him do what he damn well pleased. This includes Va. Tech and the Atlanta Falcons. As such, they have what's coming to them.

As if the secret compartment in the water bottle was the first indication that he smoked dope.

[snoopy369]

Sorry Dan, but I don't buy that argument. He's an adult. Maybe when he was 18 or 19 I can see this, but he's what, 26, 27? By that point you're responsible for your actions. If you are surrounded by bad people, go find some good ones... Sure, I don't feel sorry for the Falcons particularly either, but I don't have one ounce of sympathy for Vick.

[SlowwHand]

Smoking herb is the least of his transgressions.
Like Jrabbit pointed out though, poor timing.
Doesn't show a lot of smarts.

[Kontiki]

The good times keep rolling for Mr. Vick.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070928.wsptvick28/GSStory/GlobeSportsFootball/home

Indiana bank sues Vick
Associated Press

September 28, 2007 at 12:31 PM EDT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — An Indiana bank sued suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for not repaying loans involving a car rental business.

1st Source Bank of South Bend said in a federal lawsuit it suffered damages of at least $2 million (U.S.) because Vick and Divine Seven LLC of Atlanta had refused to pay for the vehicles. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Last week, the Royal Bank of Canada sued Vick in federal court in Virginia for more than $2.3 million that it said he had planned to use for real estate investments.

Vick pleaded guilty to a dogfighting conspiracy charge in federal court last month and was indicted Tuesday on state charges in Virginia related to the dogfighting ring. He faces up to five years in prison on the federal charge when he is sentenced Dec. 10. He also has been indefinitely suspended by the NFL.

A message was left Friday at the law firm representing Vick in his criminal cases.

Vick signed loan agreements as the chief financial officer of Divine Seven, which bought at least 130 vehicles, including many Kia Spectra and Ford Taurus cars, through 1st Source Bank loans, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Wednesday.

A phone call Friday to a number listed on loan documents for Divine Seven was answered by a clerk at a Payless Car Rental office in Atlanta. The Associated Press left a message there for Art Washington, who signed some of the loan documents as Divine Seven's CEO.

According to the lawsuit, 1st Source Bank made a written demand for payment Aug. 24, but Vick and Divine Seven have "failed and refused to pay."

The bank has been able to repossess most of the cars, which will limit Vick's financial liability in the lawsuit, said John Griffith, the corporate counsel for 1st Source Bank.

The lawsuit said Vick and the company agreed to their first loans with the bank in January, about three months before authorities began investigating his involvement in a Virginia dogfighting operation.

[SlowwHand]

Too bad he didn't go to Arkansas. He'd already know how to squeal like a pig.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Grandpa Troll
I just watched the lady, last name of Tucker being interviewed by Suzy Kolber and she kept saying "another Black man in prison" and he was not a menace to society.

That's the rich black man with a good lawyer's ticket. Try to make yourself out to be a victim of the man, so the PC crowd is afraid to do anything other than kiss your ass.

Lets ask those dogs?

(I love animals and think only punks hurts animals)

I'm of the "kill my dog (or cat) and may God have pity on your worthless soul, because I'll have none" school of thought, myself.

Are we forgetting he broke the law?

The whole oppressed black man thang is an attempt to make people forget that inconvenient little detail.

Oh and if MNF took away 2/3rds of the Vick story ongoing commentary, it would be a very quiet night...lets get onto football folks, move past this story

Right on.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Ming




Actually, they don't have to beat him up. All they have to do is not play hard for him. Even if some owner is stupid enough to give him another chance in the future, he needs the support of his team to make it work. Without that support, his carreer is over.

Yeah, a guard or tackle somehow just misses that blocking assignment, and "ooooh, that must have hurt. Sorry 'bout that."

[SlowwHand]

Man gets 4 years for setting dog on fire

His lawyer says animal rights groups were reason for sentence

11:58 PM CDT on Friday, September 28, 2007


By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
jemily@dallasnews.com


A 22-year-old Dallas man who tortured his dog by setting her on fire was sentenced Friday night to four years in prison for animal cruelty.

Deshawn Brown stabbed his dog, poured an accelerant on her stomach and set her on fire in April 2006. Prosecutors say he was mad because she wouldn't mate.

Prosecutor David Alex had asked jurors to give Mr. Brown the maximum sentence – 10 years – one year for each day she suffered before dying, he said.

Defense attorneys Dan Wyde and Lee Westmoreland told jurors that Mr. Brown deserved probation, not prison. Mr. Wyde asked jurors to serve justice when determining the sentence, not revenge.

"I'm not asking you for mercy. I'm asking you for justice," he said during closing arguments.

Jonnie England, executive director of Operation Kindness, the shelter that cared for the pit bull mix they named Mercy, called the jury's sentence "insignificant."

"We're extremely disappointed," she said. "It's not enough, and it's not about revenge. It's about justice."

Mr. Alex said after the verdict that he was not upset.

"I've always respected the jury's decision in every case I've tried. ... The jury thought four years was the right thing to do," Mr. Alex said.

Mr. Wyde said outside the courtroom that he believed his client was not guilty. He called the case a "special-interest prosecution."

"Those animal rights groups did a good job of twisting arms," he said. The groups used the Mercy case to raise money for their cause, he said.

Mr. Brown's fiancée, Megan Byrne, who said she was once a drug dealer, testified during Friday's sentencing phase that the couple planned to start over in Phoenix if he was given probation.

She said she had made mistakes in the past and she had learned from them. Mr. Brown, she said, could, too.

Hope he rots in a dark, damp cell.

[Lord Avalon]

Arbitrator: Vick's bonus fair game

Falcons can recover up to $20M; NFLPA set to appeal

Posted: Tuesday October 9, 2007 6:38PM; Updated: Tuesday October 9, 2007 8:07PM

ATLANTA (AP) -- Michael Vick has taken another hit -- and this one could cost him nearly $20 million.

Already facing prison time, the disgraced quarterback lost the first round in his financial battle with the Atlanta Falcons when an arbitrator ruled Tuesday that Vick should repay much of the bonus money he got while secretly bankrolling a gruesome dogfighting ring.

The case is far from over. The players' union said it will appeal the ruling by Stephen B. Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor and special master who oversaw last week's arbitration hearing in Philadelphia.

The Falcons argued that Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the long-running operation, knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed a 10-year, $130 million deal in December 2004.

The team said he used proceeds from the contract to fund his illicit activities and sought the repayment of $19,970,000 in bonuses he was paid over the last three years.

Any money the Falcons recover from Vick would be credited to its future salary cap, a huge step in recovering from the loss of the team's franchise player. Atlanta (1-4) is off to a dismal start with Joey Harrington at quarterback.

"We are certainly pleased with today's ruling," the Falcons said in a statement. "It is the first step in a process that our club has undertaken in an attempt to recoup significant salary cap space that will allow us to continue to build our football team today and in future years."

In a highly technical, nine-page ruling, Burbank said the Falcons were entitled to $3.75 million of the $7.5 million bonus that Vick was paid after signing the deal in 2004, $13.5 million of the $22.5 million in roster, reporting and playing bonuses he was paid in 2005 and 2006, and $2.72 million of the $7 million roster, reporting and playing bonus that he received this year.

Burbank took a different tact than his ruling last year in a bonus dispute involving former Denver Broncos receiver Ashley Lelie.

In that case, the arbitrator ordered the Broncos to repay $220,000 to Lelie, who reportedly had to give up about $1 million in fines, lost bonuses and a prorated portion of his signing bonus to get out of the final year of his Denver contract after a dispute over playing time.

"We have reviewed the decision handed down by Special Master Stephen Burbank and believe it is incorrect," the NFLPA said in a statement. "We will now appeal his ruling."

The case goes to U.S. District Court Judge David Doty in Minneapolis, who still has jurisdiction over the antitrust suit filed by players following the 1987 strike.

Giving teams more financial leeway than he did in the Lelie case, Burbank said Falcons were entitled to recover bonuses for future services that Vick won't be able to earn because of his dogfighting admission. He was suspended indefinitely without pay by the NFL, in addition to losing millions in lucrative endorsement deals.

If upheld, the decision would be a further strain on Vick's finances.

He already has been sued by an Indiana bank that claims he failed to repay at least $2 million in loans for a car rental business, and by a Canadian bank that claims he owes more than $2.3 million for real estate investments.

Of course, Vick has more troubling issues to deal with than cash-flow problems. He'll be sentenced Dec. 10 in the federal dogfighting case and is expected to get at least a year in prison. He's also facing felony dogfighting charges in Virginia, which carry possible sentences of up to five years each.

In addition, Vick tested positive for marijuana last month, drawing the ire of the judge who will be sentencing him in December. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ordered Vick confined to his Virginia home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring. He also must submit to random drug testing.

Vick's stunning downfall began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided property that Vick owns in Surry County, Va. Officers seized dozens of dogs, most of them pit bulls, and equipment associated with dogfighting.

Vick initially denied any knowledge of the enterprise, then pledged after he was charged that he would fight to clear his name.

After his three co-defendants pleaded guilty, Vick followed suit in late August and admitted to bankrolling the enterprise and participating in the killing of eight dogs that performed poorly. In his only public comment since the admission, Vick took responsibility for his actions and asked for forgiveness.

"I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out there in the world who was affected by this whole situation," he said, "and if I'm more disappointed with myself than anything it's because of all the young people, young kids that I let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/10/09/vick.bonus.ap/index.html

[SlowwHand]

A bonus? For what? Going to jail?

[snoopy369]

Did you read the article? No ... because it specifies the bonuses they're going after, namely signing, roster, etc. bonuses already paid.

Of course they're not paying him a red cent from here on out

[SlowwHand]

I understand. Just because it's paid doesn't mean it's due.