More on Dogfighting QB

[RedGlitter]

NFL urged to 'Sack Vick' over dogfighting charges

Updated Fri. Jul. 20 2007 8:32 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The demands to suspend quarterback Michael Vick from the NFL over charges of dogfighting are growing increasingly loud with calls from animal activists to senators calling on the league to take action.

National Football League star Michael Vick and three other men face charges of operating a dogfighting ring.

They are accused of killing dogs with methods ranging from drowning to electrocution and of staging bloody dog fights.

While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was meeting with officials of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Friday, more than four dozen activists urged the league to "Sack Vick" in a demonstration outside the NFL headquarters.

"Sack Vick!" chanted the demonstrators, organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as they walked in front of the Park Avenue building.

Vick has not been found guilty and the NFL says it will not suspend him before he has his day in court.

But critics say the NFL didn't wait for a court ruling or a conviction before Goodell's one-year suspension of Tennessee's Adam "Pacman" Jones after a brawl at a Las Vegas strip club.

"We think they should do the same with Michael Vick," Dan Shannon, an assistant director of campaigns for PETA, told The Associated Press.

"We don't think their 'wait and see' attitude goes far enough. If they suspended Pacman Jones, they can suspend Vick."

On Friday, the NFL said it agreed "dogfighting is cruel, degrading and illegal.

"The alleged activities are very disturbing, and we are extremely disappointed Michael Vick has put himself in this position," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.

"We are having extensive dialogue with numerous groups and individuals, including the ASPCA, and are reviewing all of our options to deal with this as quickly as possible."

But Sherry Ramsay, a staff attorney for the Humane Society of the United States, expressed disappointment at the league's "wait and see attitude" regarding the charges.

"There is a precedent in the Jones suspension," she said.

The calls to sack Vick may become increasingly hard to ignore, observers say, as the dogfighting scandal has even reached the floor of the Senate in Washington.

More than one senator joined in widespread condemnation of the practice.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D.-W.Va., a known dog advocate, voiced his disgust on Thursday over the allegations.

"The training of these poor creatures to turn themselves into fighting machines is simply barbaric," Byrd said.

And even former presidential candidate John Kerry, who said he will introduce legislation aimed at eliminating dogfighting, called on the league to immediately suspend Vick.

"On behalf of millions of sports fans and dog lovers, I urge you to treat Mr. Vick's dogfighting indictment with the very serious attention it deserves and suspend him from the league until the resolution of legal proceedings," Kerry said in a letter to Goodell.

"I look forward to working with you on this issue to ensure that dogfighting and other illegal activities have no place in professional sports."

The practice of dogfighting is said to be so common in Chicago that hip hop mogul Russell Simmons is targeting school kids with an awareness campaign.

"He's almost a blessing because there's so little dialogue about this despicable crime," Simmons said of Vick.

Vick is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in federal court in Richmond, Va.

[pepperband]

This story is disturbing on so many levels.

I wonder if it will ever go to a jury trial?

[RedGlitter]

I'll bet it doesn't. He'll probably buy himself off. Sadly I think more people care about football players than animals.

[chonsigirl]

See what happens on Thursday, if he is charged, and with how many counts. They should charge him with everything they can!

But the NFL has a habit of letting players continue while they await trial....