John Czarnecki / FOXSports.com
The entire Michael Vick saga will turn whenever dog-fighting charges, which are felonies in Virginia, are formally brought. But if Surry County's prosecutor Gerald Poindexter doesn't believe the many allegations warrant prosecution, then Vick will be Atlanta's starting quarterback in September. Otherwise, Vick is looking at a minimum four-game suspension. It could be more than that.
If Vick is guilty, he was really irresponsible when he told commissioner Roger Goodell that he was innocent at the time of the college draft. It is better to say nothing than to lie.
Too many people who claim to be close to Vick or to the dog-fighting subculture have told authorities and reporters that he has owned fighting dogs and has even attended such gambling events. Vick has denied any involvement, instead blaming his relatives over the many pit bulls and kennels discovered on the Moonlight Road property in rural Smithfield, Va. that he owned at one time. The police investigated the property when Vick's cousin, Davon Boddie, listed the home after an arrest on suspicion of drug possession.
In America, both inner-city gangs and people raised in the south and Midwest in rural areas are into dog fighting. As someone in this week's Sports Illustrated said, "It's the country side of (Vick) coming out. He doesn't believe he's doing anything wrong."
Granted, the personal conduct policy gives Goodell tremendous latitude in doling out suspensions. Some believe he should wait, like his predecessor Paul Tagliabue did, for the court system to rule before meting out suspensions. But Goodell believes there is too much at stake to wait and I agree.
Basically, it is a problem with our media-driven culture. The world seems to revolve around the negative. Just the other day, the Patriots lost Marquise Hill, a solid reserve defensive lineman, who drowned after saving a lady friend when their jet ski flipped on choppy Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.
Hill, who spent much of his downtime helping friends and relatives rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, was very active in his community and he epitomized much of the good many NFL players do.
It is such a sad contrast. Hill, a hero in death, to a young superstar like Vick, who has been paid $48 million over the past three seasons, and has the wealth to be doing so much potential good on his former Virginia Tech campus. Instead, he is linked to a potential crime detested by dog lovers everywhere.
Goodell and the NFL don't owe Vick any compassion if he is guilty.
The entire Michael Vick saga will turn whenever dog-fighting charges, which are felonies in Virginia, are formally brought. But if Surry County's prosecutor Gerald Poindexter doesn't believe the many allegations warrant prosecution, then Vick will be Atlanta's starting quarterback in September. Otherwise, Vick is looking at a minimum four-game suspension. It could be more than that.
If Vick is guilty, he was really irresponsible when he told commissioner Roger Goodell that he was innocent at the time of the college draft. It is better to say nothing than to lie.
Too many people who claim to be close to Vick or to the dog-fighting subculture have told authorities and reporters that he has owned fighting dogs and has even attended such gambling events. Vick has denied any involvement, instead blaming his relatives over the many pit bulls and kennels discovered on the Moonlight Road property in rural Smithfield, Va. that he owned at one time. The police investigated the property when Vick's cousin, Davon Boddie, listed the home after an arrest on suspicion of drug possession.
In America, both inner-city gangs and people raised in the south and Midwest in rural areas are into dog fighting. As someone in this week's Sports Illustrated said, "It's the country side of (Vick) coming out. He doesn't believe he's doing anything wrong."
Granted, the personal conduct policy gives Goodell tremendous latitude in doling out suspensions. Some believe he should wait, like his predecessor Paul Tagliabue did, for the court system to rule before meting out suspensions. But Goodell believes there is too much at stake to wait and I agree.
Basically, it is a problem with our media-driven culture. The world seems to revolve around the negative. Just the other day, the Patriots lost Marquise Hill, a solid reserve defensive lineman, who drowned after saving a lady friend when their jet ski flipped on choppy Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.
Hill, who spent much of his downtime helping friends and relatives rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, was very active in his community and he epitomized much of the good many NFL players do.
It is such a sad contrast. Hill, a hero in death, to a young superstar like Vick, who has been paid $48 million over the past three seasons, and has the wealth to be doing so much potential good on his former Virginia Tech campus. Instead, he is linked to a potential crime detested by dog lovers everywhere.
Goodell and the NFL don't owe Vick any compassion if he is guilty.