Vick Pleads Guilty

On Monday August 27th Atlanta Falcons quarterback pleaded guilty to a federal dog fighting charge in court. Through a plea bargain agreement Vick plead guilty to a single conspiracy count for running a brutal dog fighting ring but claimed that he was not involved in gambling on the dogs. This is about as believable as a certain politician saying he smoked pot but did not inhale.

Before accepting his guilty plea U.S. District Judge Hudson asked Vick if he understood that he was not bound to the sentence that will be recommend as part of the plea agreement. He said "The bottom line is that if I decide you deserve five years and give you five years, you can't appeal it," the judge said. "Do you understand? You're taking your chances here…You have to live with whatever decision I make."

Vick said he understood and Judge Henry Hudson has set sentencing for December 10th. Later in a news conference Vick apologized to the Atlanta Falcon management, his teammates and the youth of America while claiming that he had turned his life over to God.

I have held off making a comment about the case until the legal matters were resolved but now that he entered the guilty plea I have to say that this story upset me on several levels. First and foremost as an animal lover and pet owner I find in sickening that anyone would find sport or entertainment in the killing of any animals.

As an NFL fan, I am disturbed by yet another story about a major sports figure who thinks he is above the law. These players are paid millions of dollars to play a game and they feel this gives them the right to break the law. I also find it a little too convenient for these players who break the law to announce that they suddenly found God in hopes of getting a reduced sentence. I think along with the sentence for the criminal charges he should be banned from playing in the NFL.