News reports within the past several hours say that Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips this morning plead guilty to federal dogfighting charges, joining co-defendant Tony Taylor in implicating NFL star Michael Vick in bankrolling the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting ring. Ther operation allegedly operated on Vick's Virginia property. Phillips and Peace face sentencing in November; Taylor will be sentenced in December.
Michael Vick, however, seems willing to test his luck with a jury trial; he had until this morning to accept a plea deal that would require he serve jail time. It now seems very possible that Vick will face additional charges of racketeering, which carries a 20 year sentence and increased fines.
Vick's football career? Essentially over. If he spends any time in prison, what self-respecting NFL team would hire him upon release? And if he pleads guilty and doesn't serve prison time, what self-respecting NFL team would hire him?
Certainly all Vick's current and future corporate sponsorships are over and done with. (Except perhaps for Coke, which I'm currently boycotting since, to my knowledge, they've not taken any action on dismissing his endorsement contract. Or, for that matter, responding to me email - which Nike had the courtesy to do.) So, if Vick has to forego part of his $36 million signing bonus, and 7 years' worth of a $130 million 10-year contract, how much money does that leave him?
Vick obviously likes to gamble big time; based on this bust, you'd think he'd realize that when push comes to shove, he doesn't win.
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