So, I shouldn't take him in my fantasy football league? 
Why you shouldn't expect Vick back any time soon.
Editorial | August 15, 2007 7:22 pm
With the release of Madden 08 yesterday, I felt this was an appropriate thing to write about in my down time.
One of my little side passions is following lawsuits and court ordeals, so some days I'll spend flipping around and end up locking into Court TV to see if anything interesting is going on.
Needless to say, I haven't had to stray any farther away than ESPN for my daily fix of legal crap.
Michael Vick is going down....and he's going to land with a very loud "splat."
When he was first indicted on these federal charges, I thought that he may have some issues getting off the charges, but still had a solid chance since we hadn't heard too much about the evidence that was coming against him. I expected him to plead "Not Guilty" to the charges and his team to move for a dismissal if they felt it was a frivolous charge.
Well, one part of that came true....and that's when I knew he was in deep trouble.
When I heard he indeed plead "Not Guilty", but no motions had been made for dismissal, I knew something was wrong. Usually, the first thing a defense team will do is completely analyze the major parts of the indictment, find out what the evidence is, discredit it, and move to dismiss based upon circumstantial evidence.
Strike One: No dismissal hearing.
Enter Roger Goddell and the NFL.
When the leader of the league that employs you tells you to stay away from camp, you know there's an issue that is serious enough to cause a problem. Yes, it seemed like a simple PR move, but the fact of the matter is that any regular manager, supervisor, or boss in general would tell you to go on a leave of absence because of the situation.
Then the reports came out that the NFL was going to suspend him for the year for racketeering, which is a brilliant move by the NFL for a couple of reasons, if it's true.
First, it separates them from the trial altogether. By making it about the gambling, they completely leave out the chance that any member of the NFL, NFLPA, or any other body associated with the NFL, will be subpoenaed. Goddell isn't an idiot.
Second, it keeps the protesters happy and keeps them away from the home offices. Nothing ruins a good seasons like a bunch of people picketing training camps with signs. PETA has been surprisingly calm throughout this, even with the one major protest they held. Goddell played damage control on this situation extremely well, agreeing with PETA the whole way in saying that the acts are deplorable.
Strike Two: NFL tells Vick to take a hike.
The final hammer dropped on him this week. The other two defendants in the trial rolled over and accepted plea bargains in exchange for testimony against Vick. Now, Vick stands completely alone on these charges with no one to truly bail him out of this besides his legal team.
If it had remained 3-1 in his favor, the lone guy who rolled over on them wouldn't be as credible and could easily be picked apart by the defense team. Now, it's 1-3 against him, which makes it far more difficult for anyone to truly pick apart. Even if you manage to discredit a witness for simply taking a plea bargain, there is still strength in numbers, and prosecutors know this. It's an easy risk to take if you can nail the main defendant.
Strike Three: Co-defendants pleading out.
So, don't expect Michael Vick back in the NFL any time soon. No team wants to deal with this type of drama, and, unless he's completely cleared of these charges, I don't see any team taking a chance to bring him in.
Now, I'm fully aware that the Falcons have yet to do anything in regards to Vick's status with the team, but if he pleads guilty or this goes to trial, don't be surprised when the Falcons tell Vick to stay away for good.
One of my little side passions is following lawsuits and court ordeals, so some days I'll spend flipping around and end up locking into Court TV to see if anything interesting is going on.
Needless to say, I haven't had to stray any farther away than ESPN for my daily fix of legal crap.
Michael Vick is going down....and he's going to land with a very loud "splat."
When he was first indicted on these federal charges, I thought that he may have some issues getting off the charges, but still had a solid chance since we hadn't heard too much about the evidence that was coming against him. I expected him to plead "Not Guilty" to the charges and his team to move for a dismissal if they felt it was a frivolous charge.
Well, one part of that came true....and that's when I knew he was in deep trouble.
When I heard he indeed plead "Not Guilty", but no motions had been made for dismissal, I knew something was wrong. Usually, the first thing a defense team will do is completely analyze the major parts of the indictment, find out what the evidence is, discredit it, and move to dismiss based upon circumstantial evidence.
Strike One: No dismissal hearing.
Enter Roger Goddell and the NFL.
When the leader of the league that employs you tells you to stay away from camp, you know there's an issue that is serious enough to cause a problem. Yes, it seemed like a simple PR move, but the fact of the matter is that any regular manager, supervisor, or boss in general would tell you to go on a leave of absence because of the situation.
Then the reports came out that the NFL was going to suspend him for the year for racketeering, which is a brilliant move by the NFL for a couple of reasons, if it's true.
First, it separates them from the trial altogether. By making it about the gambling, they completely leave out the chance that any member of the NFL, NFLPA, or any other body associated with the NFL, will be subpoenaed. Goddell isn't an idiot.
Second, it keeps the protesters happy and keeps them away from the home offices. Nothing ruins a good seasons like a bunch of people picketing training camps with signs. PETA has been surprisingly calm throughout this, even with the one major protest they held. Goddell played damage control on this situation extremely well, agreeing with PETA the whole way in saying that the acts are deplorable.
Strike Two: NFL tells Vick to take a hike.
The final hammer dropped on him this week. The other two defendants in the trial rolled over and accepted plea bargains in exchange for testimony against Vick. Now, Vick stands completely alone on these charges with no one to truly bail him out of this besides his legal team.
If it had remained 3-1 in his favor, the lone guy who rolled over on them wouldn't be as credible and could easily be picked apart by the defense team. Now, it's 1-3 against him, which makes it far more difficult for anyone to truly pick apart. Even if you manage to discredit a witness for simply taking a plea bargain, there is still strength in numbers, and prosecutors know this. It's an easy risk to take if you can nail the main defendant.
Strike Three: Co-defendants pleading out.
So, don't expect Michael Vick back in the NFL any time soon. No team wants to deal with this type of drama, and, unless he's completely cleared of these charges, I don't see any team taking a chance to bring him in.
Now, I'm fully aware that the Falcons have yet to do anything in regards to Vick's status with the team, but if he pleads guilty or this goes to trial, don't be surprised when the Falcons tell Vick to stay away for good.
Keywords: None
