Michael Vick Interrupted

After a good deal of dawdling, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Michael Vick.

And he did it with quite a flourish.

From the Associated Press:

For all the big words and life lessons Roger Goodell included in his booming reaction to Michael Vick's admission of involvement in dogfighting, the NFL commissioner's message seemingly could have been whittled to two words: Nice try.

Goodell suspended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback indefinitely without pay Friday, just hours after Vick filed a plea agreement that portrayed him as less involved than three co-defendants and guilty mainly of poor judgment for associating with them.

In a letter to Vick, Goodell admonished him for "reprehensible" acts and for associating with people engaged in gambling in violation of NFL rules. He also rebuked him for seemingly trying to paint himself as something other than the ringleader.

"You are now justifiably facing consequences for the decisions you made and the conduct in which you engaged. Your career, freedom and public standing are now in the most serious jeopardy," Goodell wrote. "I hope that you will be able to learn from this difficult experience and emerge from it better prepared to act responsibly and to make the kinds of choices that are expected of a conscientious and law abiding citizen."

Vick acknowledged bankrolling gambling on the dogfights, but denied placing bets himself or taking any of the winnings. He admitted that dogs not worthy of the pit were killed "as a result of the collective efforts" of himself and two co-defendants.

Goodell decided not to wait until Monday, when U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson in Richmond, Va., formally receives the plea and schedules a sentencing likely to land Vick in prison for one to five years.

The commissioner said Vick's admitted conduct was "not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible." Even if he didn't personally place bets, Goodell said, "your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."

Goodell freed the Falcons to "assert any claims or remedies" to recover $22 million of Vick's signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.

Goodell finally came to his senses and dumped Vick.

I wonder if Vick will go on a repentance tour after he serves his sentence, whatever that may be.

Will Mike Wallace resurface again and interview Vick on 60 Minutes?

Will Vick do a prime time sit-down with Diane Sawyer?

Eventually, there's going to be an interview. There always is. There will be an attempt by Vick to be forgiven. He'll focus on his victimhood and claim remorse. He may even shed a tear. That always helps.

Colbert I. King discusses the Vick story in an op-ed in today's Washington Post.
He doesn't go easy on him.

The best advice when called out for something that you've done or have failed to do: Swallow your pride, own up to it, take the medicine, pick up what's left and move on as best you can.

Michael Vick did not do that. Instead, he resorted to deception and lying.

When the story broke, Vick assumed the persona of a trusting and generous young man who had been exploited by family.

A May 22 story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Vick as saying at the time of the NFL draft on April 28: "I'm never there. I'm never at the house."

"I left the house with my family members and my cousin," Vick said. "They just haven't been doing the right thing. . . . It's unfortunate I have to take the heat behind it. If I'm not there, I don't know what's going on."

Vick maintained that he had let a cousin live at the house and didn't know how a large kennel on the property could be involved in criminal activity.

On July 26, Vick and his three co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges filed in the indictment.

Within weeks, his three companions had changed their pleas to guilty and agreed to testify against him.

On Monday, Vick's lawyers said he had decided to plead guilty, and he did so yesterday.

What caused Vick's flip? A desire to come clean or the prospect of a jury conviction?

He could have owned up sooner. In April, Vick reportedly told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he had no knowledge of what was alleged to have occurred on the Surry County property. Vick said as much to the Atlanta Falcons, too.

He had a chance to show a change of heart during a radio interview with an Atlanta station on July 30. He didn't, avoiding comment on the charges on the advice of his lawyers.

Casting himself as a victim, Vick said: "I would like to thank all my fans and all my support and all the people that are praying for Mike Vick and are in my corner right now. It's a crisis situation for me, but I'm going to get through it and I feel, by the grace of God, that's the only way. I believe in the outcome at the end, and that's why I put my faith in the man upstairs."

The man upstairs apparently isn't giving Vick a pass.

Vick is such a liar!

Is Vick finished?

Who knows?

An indefinite suspension is very vague. He hasn't been banned for life. For all of Goodell's bluster, he didn't go that far.

I guess it's easier to suspend a player indefinitely and just let that suspension drag on for the next 10-15 years until he'd be too old to play.

I agree with King that Vick hasn't come clean.

The way Vick has handled the matter reminds me of how much trouble Bill Clinton had in coming clean.

The best advice when called out for something that you've done or have failed to do: Swallow your pride, own up to it, take the medicine, pick up what's left and move on as best you can.

Michael Vick did not do that. Instead, he resorted to deception and lying.

Yes. Bill Clinton.