From the AP via 11Alive.com:
Standing erect and answering questions with soft, short responses, NFL star Michael Vick pleaded guilty Monday to a federal dogfighting charge and awaited a Dec. 10 sentencing date that could send him to prison.
The plea by the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback was accepted by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, who asked: “Are you entering the plea of guilty to a conspiracy charge because you are in fact guilty?”
Vick replied, “Yes, sir.”
In his written plea filed in federal court Friday, Vick admitted helping kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights.
The NFL suspended him indefinitely and without pay Friday after his plea agreement was filed. Merely associating with gamblers can trigger a lifetime ban under the league’s personal conduct policy.
Now maybe the courts can get around to sending this scumbag to prison where he belongs.
Says Vick:
Not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anyone else for my actions and what I have done. I’m totally responsible and those things just didn’t have to happen.
I take full responsibility for my actions.
Dogfighting is a terrible thing and I did reject it. I’m upset with myself and through this situation I found Jesus and I asked him for forgiveness and I’d just turned my life over to God.
Oh, so he just now finds Jesus. He just now turns his life over to God. Right.
Says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell:
Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.
Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, 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.
I have advised the Falcons that, with my decision today, they are no longer prohibited from acting and are now free to assert any claims or remedies available to them under the Collective Bargaining Agreement or your NFL Player Contract.
Goodbye Vick. I hope I never see you again in a Falcons uniform. I hope I never see you again in Atlanta.
Oh, and what about Jamie Foxx’s defense of Vick, as reported by Access Hollywood:
“It’s a cultural thing, I think,” Jamie said. “Most brothers didn’t know that, you know. I used to see dogs fighting in the neighborhood all the time. I didn’t know that was Fed time. So, Mike probably just didn’t read his handbook on what not to do as a black star.”
So the real victim here is Michael Vick, huh? Because he didn’t even know executing dogs was bad? That’s why he held the fights at night, in barns in the woods painted pitch black with no windows or outdoor lights. Give me a break. Jamie Foxx, you’re a loser too.
Michael Vick, dogfighting, Atlanta Falcons
