PETA Tells NFL to ‘Sack Michael Vick’

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

About 50 people demonstrated outside the NFL’s headquarters today following the indictment of Michael Vick on dogfighting charges. And the PETA Web site (www.peta.org) is encouraging concerned parties to take action on the issue by electronically signing the following letter:

“I was appalled to hear of the neglect and abuse of dogs discovered on Michael Vick’s property. News sources reported that law enforcement officials found 70 dogs on his Surry County, Virginia, property along with paraphernalia commonly associated with dogfighting. I hope that you take Vick’s indictment seriously. Please suspend Vick immediately. Show the world that the NFL has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to cruelty to animals by football players.”

Here’s the problem. Michael Vick was indicted, not charged. That’s why the NFL hasn’t acted already. And that’s the same reason Nike hasn’t severed ties with MV, although they have removed all references to him on their Web site and postponed the release of his new Zoom Vick V shoe. People, in general, are appalled by what happened in this dogfighting incident. And well they should be. I am, too. But until Michael Vick is charged — yes charged — with having committed a crime, it’s difficult to pass judgement on him. The Principle of Presumption of Innocence is phrased such that “the accused is presumed to be innocent until it has been declared guilty by a court.” Thus, as outraged as some people are, Michael Vick is still not legally guilty of any crime.

Nevertheless, in the wake of this indictment and while waiting for the atrocity to get sorted out, it’s a black eye for anyone and everyone associated with Michael Vick — his family, his employer (the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons), his sponsors, even his city. So, expect some kind of action to be taken early next week (or sooner) that will, in some manner, douse the flames that are rapidly spreading until all the facts are collected. PETA has to understand that the NFL is not turning a blind eye to the situation, though. The NFL has made that clear on numerous occassions. They are taking the matter very seriously.

One thing I think a lot of people are overlooking is what kind of person it takes to hurt animals like this. Somebody is guilty and while we still don’t know what Michael Vick’s involvement was — if he participated in the cruelty to these animals or if his residence was just (knowingly) being used for dogfights — we can agree that it takes a pretty sick individual to participate in this kind of violence.

NFL Network interviewed Michael’s new teammate Joe Horn on “NFL Total Access” tonight and Joe was in complete support of MV. The question they failed to ask Joe was, “What if Michael is guilty?” The interview was all about the care and support for a teammate, like poor Michael Vick was the victim here. Again, I’m getting ahead of myself by presuming that Michael is guilty, but if he is charged — like I said before — I hope Commissioner Goodell kicks him out of the league.