Anxious to find out what punishment awaits Michael Vick? Don't think he should be punished? Completely indifferent? Regardless, on December 20th Michael Vick will be sentenced for pleading guilty to the felony charge of conspiring to operate an interstate dog fighting ring, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. Under federal law, Vick will be incarcerated for no less than twelve months. Knowing that the ill-fated Virginian has not yet received a sentence, let's take a look at all the other ways he has been punished.
Endorsements
Even before entering his guilty plea, it seems "Ookie" (Vick's dog fighting alias) got hit the hardest in his wallet. According to Wikipedia, Vick was a spokesman for various companies, the majority of which were related to athletics. Coupled with his contract, his endorsements landed him on Forbes Top 100 Celebrities just two years ago. Now you would be hard pressed to find any functioning endorsement with Vick's name on it. Some of the most prominent companies to disown or shelve Vick-related products include Nike and Reebok. I read on Wikipedia that Nike has suspended Vick's contract and stopped the production of his custom shoe and that Reebok will no longer produce or sell Michael Vick jerseys. NFLshop.com, the biggest Internet supplier of NFL related memorabilia, no longer offers products associated with Vick. Denouncing their association with Vick, several noted trading card companies have stopped producing his card. Safe to say, merchandise revenue will no longer be a prosperous source of income for #7.
Commissioner Goodell
Becoming the commissioner of the National Football League just over one year ago, Roger Goodell already has a track record of zero tolerance and harsh rulings. To various offenders employed by the NFL, for offenses committed on the field and off, the commissioner has handed down year long suspensions, dismissal from team facilities, mandated community service, and some hefty monetary fines. All the above mentioned actions taken against NFL players and staff resulted before Vick's guilty plea. Accordingly, it was no surprise to see Commissioner Goodell throw the book at Vick. Goodell's ruling stated that Vick would be suspended indefinitely for one year without pay. As of now, he will be allowed back into the NFL at a later date, but who knows when that opportunity will present itself?
So, while he has not been officially sentenced, you can see how Vick has been disciplined outside of the courtroom. Without endorsements contributing to his income and the inability to work for at least one year, his finances must be dwindling. What about his 37 million dollars from his contract signed in 2004? Just imagine all the money he has spent since then and all the lawyer fees he has amassed since this investigation began. Not only that, but later this month the Atlanta Falcons plan to make a motion to recover 20 million dollars of the original 37 million. Personally, I am satisfied from now until December 20th.
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5 comments:
I have to say that I've learned quite a bit from your blog. I had heard a little bit about this Michael Vick business from watching TV but I really enjoyed reading your opinions on the matter. I certainly think it's important that Vick's endorsements are being canceled. How else will he learn that such cruelty will not be tolerated? I was watching 'The View' the other day and Whoopi Goldberg made an interesting comment about the Vick case. She basically said that Vick comes from a part of the country where dogfighting is the norm and it really shouldn't be a surprise that he would be participating in such activities. This statement was shocking to me...I just don't think there is any excuse for such behavior. CNN had an interesting article on dogfighting which I think sheds some extra light on just how sad dogfighting is, particularly because of what a lucrative business it has become. I'm looking forward to see how this case continues.
An interesting compilation of information I would have never known otherwise.
My view is pessimistic and sarcastic at best, seeing as how I just don't question some of these "Professionals," but the profession as a whole.
Needless to say, don't name yourself, or your kid "Ookie."
ASPCA and other anti-cruelty sites are available everywhere online.
Maybe this is a bit of a reach but the way the NFL and corporations have been distancing themselves from Vick reminds me of one of the themes Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis.
The NFL is an organization promoting a violent game of simulated warfare where hired professionals compete every week and are paid exorbitant amounts of money for their work.
An organization such as this is expected to produce violent individuals. But what happens when one of them makes a mistake and does something the NFL does not approve of?
I do not defend Michael Vick. He should be punished for his cruelty. But for the NFL to act like he is the one crazy dog murderer among a fraternity of saints is ridiculous. Other football players have done worse things to human beings and not received this sort of treatment.
Corporations aren't innocent either. Nike and Reebok basically run sweatshops that treat people almost as bad as Vick treated his dogs, but we don't see the NFL cutting their ties with them.
For the record I'm a football fan, I just think it's an interesting hypocrisy.
I think all the Vick news is being pushed under the rug for a Bigger Scandal anyway.
Excellent post -- good information, clear and persuasive writing, interesting links. The video you chose does a great job of setting up the theme and tone of your post. You brought some good insights to a topic being written about widely. Really well done.
Just a few bugs to fix:
Forbes (title not possessive)
Vick-related (needs hyphen)
"will no be a prosperous" (fix typo)
abovementioned (one word; as two words, it makes that sentence mean something totally different!)
Thanks for fixing the bugs in last week's post, too!
The Micheal Vick business has had some interesting side effects. A week after the story broke, I saw a group of people picketing Lunardi's Market in Walnut Creek. They claimed Lunardi's was sponsoring cruelty to animals in their meat production. The Vick affair has raised awareness in the public eye. Probably a good thing, as what was going on at Vick's mansion is only the tip of the iceberg. Vick becomes a sacrificial lamb because there's so much light on him. Others are probably worse.
Also: Your Radnich link on your comment to my blog didn't work, check the address, I think it's knbr (not kbr). Radnich is a good, if somewhat acerbic, reporter. Glad to hear you're involved with KSFS
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