In a previous column, I predicted that Michael Vick would end his NFL career without having won a Superbowl.
I think that prediction's looking stronger and stronger...although I have to say, I find it more than a little disappointing that Commissioner Roger Goddell's stance of "We'll suspend them as soon as news of the crime goes out, no more letting them stall the case out until the off-season to get it out of the public eye, we're sick of these guys giving the league a bad image" dissipates as soon as the person he has to suspend is actually someone whose name sells tickets. (And T-shirts, although some of his still say "Mexico" on the back.)
They're letting Vick play because he's a superstar, and despite claims that they plan to get tough on thugs and crooks in the NFL, the truth is that superstars play by different rules than anyone else. But that only holds true for the NFL's system, not the legal system, and the case against Vick looks pretty seriously air-tight...and with a maximum six-year sentence, he might not see the field for a while, suspended or not.
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3 comments:
"But that only holds true for the NFL's system, not the legal system..."
You're kidding about that, right?
Actually, I'm not. Federal prosecutors do not f**k around...if they hand down an indictment, that means they're pretty seriously sure they've got enough evidence to convict. They don't like losing, they don't want the embarrassment of bringing a case to trial on anything less than good odds, and they've got a 95% conviction rate. If they charged Vick, he's in trouble.
And he's not good enough friends with the President to get his sentence commuted. :)
He's not that great anyway... but the people who sell tickets to things are desperate for any way to make a buck. That's true in Atlanta and in Hollywood, or there would never have been a second Fantastic Four movie.
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