Common Folk Using Common Sense

One of Michael Vick’s co-defendants doesn’t want to wait for trial. Instead, a plea agreement hearing was held for Tony Taylor in the federal dogfighting conspiracy case.

In the plea agreement signed by Michael Vick co-conspirator Tony Taylor, he claimed that Vick not only helped to organize a dog-fighting ring, he supplied the majority of the money to run the organization. It made for a quick change of heart for Taylor; only last week he plead not guilty to federal dog-fighting charges. Just four days later, he was back at the very same Virginia courthouse to enter a plea of guilty.

Vick and Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, and Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, are scheduled for trial Nov. 26. They remain free without bond.

Taylor insisted he was not alone in organizing and running a dog-fighting ring known as Bad Newz Kennels. In his signed plea agreement, Taylor claimed Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was among those who helped plan and finance Bad Newz Kennels. In fact, Taylor said that the operation and gambling monies were almost exclusively funded by Vick.

And just when it looked as bad as it could, federal prosecutors announced they would file a superseding indictment in the Michael Vick illegal dog fighting probe. More than likely that means more charges against Vick. The superseding indictment isn’t good news for Vick. In most cases, it means more charges and/or more evidence in an ongoing investigation.

Conviction on current charges carries up to six years in prison, fines of $350,000 and restitution. It should be way more.

Neither the NFL nor the Atlanta Falcons should kick out Michael Vick just because of an indictment, and just because he “sounds” guilty. It didn’t happen with Kobe Bryant or Ray Lewis, and as we know now, it shouldn’t have happened to the Duke lacrosse players.

But Vick still deserves to suffer just for his name being linked with what it’s being linked to – it’s that heinous. Vick brought it on himself. He’ll have to deal with it: with the fan rage, with the disruption to his team, with his contribution to the NFL’s ever-growing image as a harbor for thugs and criminals.

Oh, and does anyone remember Marcus Vick, Michael’s little brother from Virginia Tech?

• He made an obscene gesture to fans during a game at West Virginia
• He stomped on Louisville player Elvis Dumervil’s leg during the Gator Bowl
• He was suspended by Virginia Tech for the 2004 season because of legal problems
• He dismissed from the team “due to a cumulative effect of legal infractions and unsportsmanlike play.” In response to being thrown off the team, Vick has been quoted as saying, “It’s not a big deal. I’ll just move on to the next level, baby.”
• With three days of expulsion from Virginia Tech, Marcus Vick became involved in another incident resulting in criminal charges
• A 17-year-old girl alleges they had a nearly two-year long sexual relationship and that Marcus Vick offered to provide her alcohol and marijuana and asked her to have sex with other men
• He had lost his privilege to drive a motor vehicle in Virginia as the result of multiple traffic convictions, including reckless driving
• In 2006 he was charged with three counts of brandishing a firearm, a Class One misdemeanor, for pointing a gun at a 17-year-old and at least two of his friends in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant

And yet the Miami Dolphins saw fit to believe he deserves a chance as a free agent, and signed him in May 2006. Fortunately the Dolphins also released him May 1, 2007.

What a family reunion the Vicks must have for Thanksgiving, huh?

Tony Taylor, dog-fighting, Bad Newz Kennels, Michael Vick, Marcus Vick

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