Of course we had been hearing the rumors for several months now of the alleged dogfights, but what came out in regards to this issue this past week was just unbelievable.

Then of course there were a few individuals, who don’t have the sense that God gave a chicken. Offering the opinion that these indictments were nothing more than racism, that if this had been Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, no indictments would have happened. To this line of thinking I say BULL SHIT. If you really believe that, then I have to say that you also believe in Santa Claus, and to carry it one step further, You don’t think Elvis is dead either, that he is still underground somewhere, working at a Denny’s or something.

Keep in mind that very seldom does the Federal Government indict anyone unless they have enough evidence to convict them. They are not like most local legal agencies where a “smoking gun” is enough for them to file the charge. No, they only file when they are certain they can get a conviction, and also remember that unlike city or state prosecution, you actually do the prison time on Federal Charges, rarely is probation offered after you are indicted/charged, nor do you get any time off for good behavior, if you are sentenced to 2 years you serve 2 years.

Another point that supporters seem to raise is when they try to compare this inexcusable act of violence against an animal to either hunting wild game, or the slaughter of cattle or chickens for human consumption. Again this type of comparison simply shows that persons intelligence, or lack thereof, as the only similarity between these actions is the fact that an animal looses it’s life. Actually that isn’t even true as in most cases the dogs involved in the fight don’t always die or aren’t killed right away, no they are forced to suffer being bitten or ripped apart by another dog, or if they don’t fight properly, they are slammed against a wall, or have water poured on them and then shocked with a cable from a car battery by their owner. Yea that sort of treatment happens in hunting all the time, or at the slaughterhouse.

Now the first thing I will point out is that neither of the charges against Vick is for actually Dog Fighting, but rather for gambling and for the transporting of dogs across state lines. However keep in mind that the investigation is still on going, so additional charges could be filed as this progresses forward. I am not sure if the NFL will suspend Vick before any trial, or plea agreement occurs. They have not done so in the past, but this is something very unusual, and Commissioner Goodell might act before anything happens.
One of the most troubling line for me from the indictment read as follows: "In or about April of 2007, Peace, Phillips and Vick executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

An amazing thing involving all of this is how it actually started. Back in April 2007, I believe when Michael Vick’s cousin, Davon T. Boddie was arrested for Drug possession. At his arrest he gave the address of the house where he was staying, which was at the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's Surry County home. A search of Boddie's home for more evidence in the drug case led to the discovery of the dog fighting operation on the property. The authorities then obtained a new search warrant regarding the dog fighting, which led to the expanded search at the Moonlight Road property, which Vick owns.

Further evidence obtained in interviews revealed the gambling that occurred at the dogfights. The NFL could view the gambling as a separate violation of the league's code of conduct and penalize him above and beyond anything he gets if he is found guilty of the federal charges. It could be a creative way for the league to suspend him longer than the typical first-time offender.

All in all this has become Michael Vick’s worst possible nightmare and something the NFL has to deal with. It makes one wonder, why a multi-millionaire such as Vick would risk it all for some macho backwoods activity.

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