The NFL cannot seem to keep their players out of trouble. Recently, one of the biggest stars in football has gone under investigation for being a major player in a dog fighting racket. His name is Michael Vick, the face of the Atlanta Falcons franchise.
On April 25th, 2007, one of Vick's homes was raided by authorities based on tips from informants not to be named. Some of them have stated that Vick is big into the dog fighting underground and that he has dropped big money by gambling on the fights.
For an icon like Vick, this is definitely not good. His current status on the case is still technically clean, however his image has taken a dramatic hit. In fact, he has had other negative instances in the last year, one including him flipping off a fan on Nov 26th, 2006, following a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
So now it seems Michael Vick has added to the NFL's misery by joining in on a rough year stacked high with negative press. Several Cincinnati Bengal players have been arrested, and then there is the big story on Adam “Pac Man” Jones of the Tennessee Titans who seems to stay in trouble. Then there is Darrent Williams, former corner back of the Denver Broncos and a former stand out at Oklahoma State University, was killed January 1st 2007 in a drive by shooting in downtown Denver.
So what happens now? Vick is apparently under investigation and this is something that will not go away over night. Dog fighting is illegal throughout the country and is a felony in 48 States. Vick reportedly put the house up for sale shortly after the initial raid but there have been no reports of whether or not it had been sold yet.
The Atlanta Falcons enter this season hoping to turn their fate around, as they have missed the playoff for two consecutive seasons. Vick is their starting quarterback and main focus on offense so it will be interesting to see if his off field troubles effect the upcoming season.
