NFL suspends Vick after he signs plea agreement

Michael Vick. (file photo)

By Dave Forster, Tim McGlone and Jim Ducibella
The Virginian-Pilot

The NFL acted swiftly Friday to suspend Michael Vick indefinitely without pay after the release of court documents detailing his admission to dogfighting allegations.

Months after saying he had nothing to do with it, Vick said in court papers that he bankrolled a dogfighting operation – and its gambling money – throughout his entire NFL career.

The document, released three days before Vick is scheduled to plead guilty in federal court in Richmond to a conspiracy charge, also says he helped kill six to eight dogs that he and his partners did not consider good fighters.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the Atlanta Falcons star for “cruel and reprehensible” conduct and “significant involvement in illegal gambling” related to a dogfighting operation.

“Your team, fans and the NFL have all been hurt by your actions,” Goodell told Vick in a letter sent Friday.

Vick, 27, a Hampton Roads native who once signed the richest contract in NFL history, put a large swooping “M” on the 10-page federal court document late Thursday. The signature meant he admitted each allegation in it was true.

Among them:

- In 2001, following his last season at Virginia Tech, Vick paid about $34,000 to buy property in rural Surry County. The land would serve for the next six years as the “main staging area” of a professional dogfighting operation that Vick conspired to create and develop with three other men.

- The enterprise involved illegal gambling. Vick admits that he provided “most” of the money his partners used to place bets ranging into the thousands of dollars on matches.

- Vick attended and sponsored at least six dog fights between spring 2003 and 2004, including fights in North Carolina and South Carolina.

- Vick agreed to the executions of six to eight dogs in April 2007. The dogs were killed by hanging and drowning, and died “as a result of the collective efforts” of Vick and two of his co-defendants.

Vick’s signed plea agreement, also made public Friday, indicated prosecutors have agreed to a prison sentence for Vick of between one year and 18 months, based on the offense level listed in the terms of the agreement.

The prosecutors will recommend a sentence on the low end of that range if Vick fulfills his part of the deal, the agreement says.

Vick must cooperate fully and truthfully with prosecutors and tell them everything he knows about any criminal activity they ask about, according to the agreement. He must also reimburse the government for costs related to the approximately 54 pit bulls that were seized from Vick’s Surry County property in April. The dogs have been housed in local shelters since then and are expected to be euthanized.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson is expected to set a date for sentencing at the plea hearing on Monday.

The felony conspiracy charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine .

The NFL’s conduct policy says the league can suspend or terminate the contract of a player who “knowingly associates with gamblers or gambling activity” or is “guilty of any other form of conduct reasonably judged by the League Commissioner to be detrimental to the League.”

The summary of facts signed by Vick said he did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. It also said he did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses won by Bad Newz Kennels, the name of Vick’s dogfighting outfit.

In his letter, Goodell indicated he thinks Vick was directly involved in wagering.

“Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling,” Goodell wrote. “Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting, and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract, and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.”

Goodell said he will review the suspension “following the conclusion of legal proceedings.”

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement that Vick’s actions are “incomprehensible and unacceptable for a member of the National Football League and the Atlanta Falcons.”

“We hope that Michael will use this time, not only to further address his legal matters, but to take positive steps to improve his personal life,” Blank said.

When he instructed Vick last month not to report to the Falcons’ training camp, Goodell also told the team not to take any action.

On Friday, he said the team can act.

That means the Falcons now could attempt to recover $22 million of Vick’s signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.

Vick’s Virginia Beach attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., declined to comment on specifics in the court documents filed Friday.

“The documents speak for themselves,” Woodward said. “Mike, the government and Mike’s attorneys agree that the statement of facts is accurate.”

Vick’s three co-defendants – Quanis L. Phillips, 28; Purnell Peace, 35; and Tony Taylor, 34 – have all pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. Each accepted a plea agreement that would have required them to testify against Vick had he gone to trial.

Vick’s signed statement includes an acknowledgement that he was present on two occasions when his co-defendants executed dogs at his Surry County property. Vick admitted that on both occasions he joined the men in putting dogs through test fights.

“Vick was aware that Phillips, Peace, and Taylor killed a number of dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions around this same time period,” the statement said in reference to a session in summer 2002.

“Vick did not kill any dogs at this time,” it said.

The men – minus Taylor, who left the group in 2004 – held another practice session in April of this year, the document says.

“Peace, Phillips, and Vick agreed to the killing of approximately 6-8 dogs that did not perform well in 'testing’ sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road and all of those dogs were killed by various methods, including hanging and drowning,” the statement says.

“Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts of Peace, Phillips, and Vick.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com