Re: SICK VICK..............................boycott NIKE
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:35 am
NFL orders Vick to not report to training camp
By DAVE FORSTER AND JIM WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 24, 2007
The National Football League's commissioner ordered Michael Vick on Monday not to report to training camp until the league completes its review of Vick's federal indictment.
"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies," Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
Vick will still be paid during training camp. The Falcons' preseason camp will begin Thursday, the same day Vick is scheduled to make his first court appearance in the case in Richmond.
A federal grand jury indicted Vick and three other men last week on a conspiracy charge over an alleged dog fighting venture. Prosecutors say that the men created "Bad Newz Kennels" and ran it out of a rural property in Surry County that Vick purchased in 2001, the year he was drafted into the NFL out of Virginia Tech. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Goodell said the review would be completed as quickly as possible and asked the team to withhold any disciplinary measures until the review is completed. The team announced it would hold a news conference today.
The case has prompted an outcry, particularly among animal rights groups, some of whom protested outside the Falcons' headquarters Monday.
The case also has brought a surge in tips about similar activity across Virginia, a lead investigator said Monday.
Richard Samuels, president of the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force, said he reviewed about a dozen leads on Monday morning alone.
"Normally they kind of trickle in. You're lucky if you get one every four months," Samuels said.
Samuels attributed the flood of new tips to publicity surrounding the sometimes graphic details of the 18-page indictment. The summary alleges that members of Bad Newz Kennels often killed the dogs that lost fights or didn't perform well.
Some were shot, drowned or hanged. One of the defendants doused a losing dog with water after consulting with Vick, and then electrocuted it, the indictment says. Another dog was slammed to the ground, it says.
"I think it's opened the public's eyes to how gruesome this really is," Samuels said.
The tips have come from all over Virginia, and many of them appear to be strong leads, Samuels said. A couple could turn into "major" cases, he said.
Some of the tips are from people who think a neighbor or someone they know is fighting dogs. Warning signs include heavily scarred dogs, a place where many are kept on heavy chains, and a lot of activity in a vacant building or secluded area, Samuels said.
On Monday, about four dozen animal rights advocates, in a protest organized by Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, demonstrated with their dogs outside the Falcons' headquarters and called again for the team to suspend Vick.
Local authorities began investigating Vick's Surry County property in late April when a search there found more than 50 pit bulls and items associated with dog fighting.
Surry's prosecutor said the county grand jury that meets today will not consider the case. He said the local investigation has been "on hiatus" since federal authorities became involved.
Staff writer Jim Ducibella and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
Jim Washington, (757) 446-2536,
jim.washington@pilotonline.com
By DAVE FORSTER AND JIM WASHINGTON, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 24, 2007
The National Football League's commissioner ordered Michael Vick on Monday not to report to training camp until the league completes its review of Vick's federal indictment.
"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies," Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
Vick will still be paid during training camp. The Falcons' preseason camp will begin Thursday, the same day Vick is scheduled to make his first court appearance in the case in Richmond.
A federal grand jury indicted Vick and three other men last week on a conspiracy charge over an alleged dog fighting venture. Prosecutors say that the men created "Bad Newz Kennels" and ran it out of a rural property in Surry County that Vick purchased in 2001, the year he was drafted into the NFL out of Virginia Tech. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Goodell said the review would be completed as quickly as possible and asked the team to withhold any disciplinary measures until the review is completed. The team announced it would hold a news conference today.
The case has prompted an outcry, particularly among animal rights groups, some of whom protested outside the Falcons' headquarters Monday.
The case also has brought a surge in tips about similar activity across Virginia, a lead investigator said Monday.
Richard Samuels, president of the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force, said he reviewed about a dozen leads on Monday morning alone.
"Normally they kind of trickle in. You're lucky if you get one every four months," Samuels said.
Samuels attributed the flood of new tips to publicity surrounding the sometimes graphic details of the 18-page indictment. The summary alleges that members of Bad Newz Kennels often killed the dogs that lost fights or didn't perform well.
Some were shot, drowned or hanged. One of the defendants doused a losing dog with water after consulting with Vick, and then electrocuted it, the indictment says. Another dog was slammed to the ground, it says.
"I think it's opened the public's eyes to how gruesome this really is," Samuels said.
The tips have come from all over Virginia, and many of them appear to be strong leads, Samuels said. A couple could turn into "major" cases, he said.
Some of the tips are from people who think a neighbor or someone they know is fighting dogs. Warning signs include heavily scarred dogs, a place where many are kept on heavy chains, and a lot of activity in a vacant building or secluded area, Samuels said.
On Monday, about four dozen animal rights advocates, in a protest organized by Norfolk-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, demonstrated with their dogs outside the Falcons' headquarters and called again for the team to suspend Vick.
Local authorities began investigating Vick's Surry County property in late April when a search there found more than 50 pit bulls and items associated with dog fighting.
Surry's prosecutor said the county grand jury that meets today will not consider the case. He said the local investigation has been "on hiatus" since federal authorities became involved.
Staff writer Jim Ducibella and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
Jim Washington, (757) 446-2536,
jim.washington@pilotonline.com