Saying that he "needs to be a better Michael Vick," the embattled Michael Vick apologized to the NFL and his Atlanta Falcons teammates Monday for "using bad judgment and making bad decisions" and vowed to redeem himself.
Good luck with that.
Shortly before making his first public statements, the star quarterback officially pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges and awaits a December 10 sentencing date.
"First I want to apologize for all the things that I've done and that I have allowed to happen," Michael Vick said at a news conference following his appearance in U.S. District Court.
"What I did was very immature. That means I need to grow up. I totally ask for forgiveness... I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions," he said.
We think a stronger word than immature might apply here. Lindsay Lohan is immature... and you don't see Firecrotch killing pit bulls, now do you. Getting drunk and sleeping around is one thing, but can a person really outgrow strapping a dog to a rape stand? Anyway.
The plea by the suspended Atlanta quarterback was accepted by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, who asked: "Are you entering the plea of guilty to a conspiracy charge because you are in fact guilty?"
Vick replied, "Yes, sir."
Hudson emphasized he is not bound by sentencing guidelines and can impose the maximum sentence of up to five years in prison for Michael Vick.
"You're taking your chances. You'll have to live with the decision I make," Hudson said.
In his plea filed in federal court Friday, Michael Vick admitted he helped kill pit bulls and supply money for gambling on the fights.
He said he did not personally place any bets or share in any winnings.
The NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay Friday after his plea was filed. Merely associating with gamblers can trigger a lifetime ban under league policy.
Vick concluded by saying, "I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to."
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4 Comments
August 28th, 2007 4:05 PM
An "average citizen" (not an athlete--just another slimeball) who ran a dogfighting ring in South Carolina currently is into the fourth of a 40 year sentence for that crime. Vick is NOT being singled out for harsher than normal penalty for running a large scale six year long interstate criminal activity.
August 29th, 2007 9:10 AM
First of all, I feel sorry for Michael. Before you get upset, he was wrong. He was very very wrong, but not to the point where his whole life should be ruined. His NFL career is over, and now they want to place him in jail for 5 years or so. That is extreme, and over a dog? Yes, what he did to those dogs is horrible. But think about it, we kill how many babies a year in abortion? We killed how many people in the aftermath of Katrina? We killed how many people in Iraq? What do we have to say about that? It is excusable of course, because we make it excusable. We kill thousand of Americans, born and unborn a day, and we still have our careers, our freedom, and our life. America is a hypocrite.
Also, dog fighting was a misdemeanor up until 3 month before Vick was busted. Don't you think the government was investigating him at the time they decided to up the crime to a felony? Does this not seem like a trap? He is one of the four only black quarterbacks in the NFL. Don't you think good ol' America, the same America that killed thousands of blacks from New Orleans and the same America that has six boys locked up in a Louisiana jail facing 15+ years in prison for a school fight involving a white student (Jena Six), the same America whose prison population is about 80% black, knew this when they decided to arrest him, and ruin his career and place him in prison...in good ol' Georgia!
How many white NFL players get into trouble, but it is brushed off, and played down? This isn't only a case of the dogs; this is a case of good ol' America getting rid of someone that frankly they didn't want there anyway! They won fair and square though. They sat and they waited and they watched, and then they finally got what they wanted, the little black quarterback boy out!
Again, he was wrong, he should be punished. But the punishment is way too harsh for the crime, and we know it. If we took the case out of the media, and let the courts handle it, then it would have never blown up to be this big, or harsh.
August 29th, 2007 12:52 PM
cw, you hit the nail on the head!
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