Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick, one of the NFL's most exciting and marketable quarterbacks the past six seasons, will plead guilty to career-threatening federal charges tied to a dogfighting ring operated on his Virginia property, his attorney said yesterday.
Vick will formally enter his plea Monday as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors that includes a recommendation for prison time. A government official told the Associated Press that prosecutors will recommend Vick be sentenced to between a year and 18 months in prison.
Still pending is an announcement by the NFL on its own disciplinary action against Vick, the first overall pick in the 2001 draft from Virginia Tech. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell barred Vick from attending Atlanta's training camp after the July indictment, and the league has been conducting an investigation.
Even though he is considered a superstar, Vick can't expect leniency from the league, said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.
Goodell, elected commissioner last year, has pledged a get-tough policy on player misconduct.
It also won't help Vick, Swangard said, that the indictment includes descriptions of dogs that lost fights being brutally executed and that the NFL believes the quarterback was not candid about the case with league officials early on.
"They will sack him to the degree it can send a message and still withstand union and public scrutiny," Swangard said.
The NFL said in a statement, "We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons."
Vick seemed to fall farther and faster than most professional athletes accused of misconduct. Vick set the record last year for most rushing yards (1,039) by a quarterback in a season. "I don't think you can list many folks who reached the kind of plateau Michael had and saw that plateau reach a precipice," Swangard said.
After his indictment, Nike suspended a lucrative contract with Vick, and Reebok stopped sales of his No. 7 jersey.
The July 17 indictment said dogs that lost fights or fared poorly in test fights were sometimes executed by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means.
Vick was charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.
