SI Reporting Vick involved with Dog Fighting

[Big Score 1]

By STEVE WYCHE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

Published on: 05/14/07

 

Former Falcons player Ray Buchanan denied comments attributed to him during a radio talk show about having direct knowledge of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick being involved in illegal dogfighting.

 

"I don't know anything about Mike being involved in dogfighting, and that's for real, coming from the Mouth of the South," Buchanan told the Journal-Constitution Monday. "For me to say something like that is wrong because I'd never throw another player under the bus. I don't know and I didn't say anything about Mike Vick, who I know, who I live by, having anything to do with dogfighting.

 

I know is what everybody else knows, and that's the stuff I see on the news or read about."

 

Vick is under investigation for animal cruelty and dogfighting in Surry County, Va. Nearly 70 dogs, mainly pit bulls, were discovered at a property Vick sold last week, after police initially went to the property as part of a drug investigation.

 

During a radio broadcast aired in Tampa on Friday, Fox Sports analyst Chris Landry said Buchanan told him Vick was deeply involved in dogfighting and that Vick funded it. Landry also said Buchanan, who works for Fox Sports Radio, told him Vick openly spoke to players about his involvement.

 

Buchanan said that he did speak with Landry about Vick's situation, but it was in an office of another Fox Sports employee last month at the NFL draft. Buchanan described it as a casual conversation where nothing was recorded, to his knowledge.

 

Landry did not back down from his comments Monday.

 

"I went on a radio station there and said what I had to say," Landry said. "I'm not looking to make news with this thing."

 

When told about Buchanan's denial, Landry was stunned.

 

"I'm going to stand by comments that I made on the show," Landry said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."

 

The radio host, Steve Duerring, said Monday that Landry "was pretty convincing."

 

Buchanan, a teammate of Vick from 2001-03, was steadfast in his assertion that Landry spoke out of line and was using him to legitimize rumors and innuendo that have circulated about the dogfighting investigation.

 

"That stuff he said I said is stuff he was saying to me, that 'He heard this and he heard that,'" Buchanan said. "I told him that I didn't have common knowledge about that. I told him that I knew that Mike loves dogs. Everybody knows that Mike loves his dogs. But I never heard anything about Mike and dogfighting.

 

"I did make a joke about Mike making $130 million and why would he need to be involved in dogfighting making that kind of money. Maybe he took something out of that to try and legitimize some of the things he came at me with. I guess he was trying to get something out of me."

 

Buchanan said he and Landry have a good relationship and that he did not know about Landry's comments until Monday morning when they appeared in the Journal-Constitution.

 

"Chris might want to retract some of the things he said," Buchanan said.

www.ajc.com

[Big Score 1]

Is that the same Ray Buchanan that got caught cheating on his wife with a hooker the night before the Superbowl?

 

You've got your wires crossed here spain.

 

That was the NFL's Christian Man of the Year, Eugene Robinson.

[Big Score 1]

+1

 

I'd bet that he does indeed suspend Vick...you can be sure that Thug Jones' camp is watching this closely.

 

I'm figuring 4 to 8 games minimum.

[BeeR]

You've got your wires crossed here spain.

 

spain doesn't know what he's talking about? I don't believe it!

[alexgaddis]

Does anyone here think Vick had a frog as big as a dog in the house?

[The Next Generation]

Now, there is supossedly a videotape of him at one of the dog fights at the property.

 

Link

 

He's toast if they produce that video.

[Savage Beatings]

Heard this morning that eyewitnesses can place him at the house during dog fights. Let's just assume now that he will for sure be suspended... the question is, for how long.

[spain]

Heard this morning that eyewitnesses can place him at the house during dog fights. Let's just assume now that he will for sure be suspended... the question is, for how long.

 

And will he be suspended in dog years or people years?

[Azazello1313]

Michael Vick has said that he was rarely at the Virginia house he owned where officials have found evidence of dog fighting and that he never took part in the practice. Investigators don't agree.

 

Kathy Strouse, the animal control coordinator for the City of Chesapeake in Virginia which is investigating the case at the Smithfield home, told Yahoo.com on Tuesday she has spoken with individuals who can "put Vick on that property" during matches.

 

Saying she is "very confident" that Vick will be tied directly to the dog fighting on the property, Strouse has challenged Surry County Commonwealth attorney Gerald Poindexter to bring charges.

 

not looking real good for the most exciting player in the game.

 

nothing proven at this point, but i've got a pretty strong hunch on this one where there's smoke there's fire.

[Ursa Majoris]

And will he be suspended in dog years or people years?

 

Suspended by the neck, with any luck.

[The Wolf]

not looking real good for the most exciting player in the game.

 

nothing proven at this point, but i've got a pretty strong hunch on this one where there's smoke there's fire.

 

 

This one is starting to turn into an inferno. Vick better make sure his lawyer is top notch 'cause a Goodell suspension is the absolute least of his worries. The article states that those involved with dog fighting face up to 5 years behind bars.

[Bill Swerski]

This one is starting to turn into an inferno. Vick better make sure his lawyer is top notch 'cause a Goodell suspension is the absolute least of his worries. The article states that those involved with dog fighting face up to 5 years behind bars.

 

I'm sure that one of Vick's homies will take the rap. There's no way that they let their meal ticket go to prison. Vick will most likely plead down to a lower charge and get probation or something.

 

That said, this looks like the beginning of the end for Ron Mexico. If he's charged, my feeling is that Blank releases him next year and that he begins Phase II of his career: a journeyman backup.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Bill Swerski

[Big Score 1]

You know, I'd actually be surprised if there's any video tapes.

 

Dog fighting, while not hidden as much as say drug running, is still very illegal. I highly doubt the organizers of these fights, are happily letting the crowd bring their camcorders to tape away.

 

Now surreptitious cell phone photographs seems far more plausible to me & I'd be about 99.9% certain that if Vick was ever present at a dog fight, there's photo evidence somewhere....given his celebrity status & all.

 

Regardless of whether Vick's convicted of anything, given Goodell's quick suspension trigger, I'd say it's just about a stone cold lead pipe lock, that Vick gets a 4 to 8 game vacation tis season.

[alexgaddis]

This one is starting to turn into an inferno. Vick better make sure his lawyer is top notch 'cause a Goodell suspension is the absolute least of his worries. The article states that those involved with dog fighting face up to 5 years behind bars.

 

5 Years? But according to Spain dogfighting is cool...

[Big Score 1]

This one is starting to turn into an inferno. Vick better make sure his lawyer is top notch 'cause a Goodell suspension is the absolute least of his worries. The article states that those involved with dog fighting face up to 5 years behind bars.

According to VA Law, for the 5 year sentence to apply, the person must be convicted of being one of the two handlers who actually instigate the dogs to fight.

[Bill Swerski]

According to VA Law, for the 5 year sentence to apply, the person must be convicted of being one of the two handlers who actually instigate the dogs to fight.

 

Agreed that Vick isn't going to prison over this. But I think that his days in Atlanta will be coming to an end in the foreseeable future.

[Big Score 1]

Agreed that Vick isn't going to prison over this. But I think that his days in Atlanta will be coming to an end in the foreseeable future.

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised.

 

Blank's high on character & I'm pretty sure he's about fed up with all the negative stuff that's following Vick around like one of those lingering farts.

[DemonKnight]

If he is convicted of this he needs to be blacklisted from pro football completely. Too bad they cant take back money he already made. This is despicable.

[Grits and Shins]

Unless Vick is actually convicted of something here what exactly will be the basis for a suspension?

 

That he was stupid? That he's black? That he is suspected of committing a felony? Seems like you could suspend more than half the NFL based on any of that criteria.

 

Now if he was being suspended because he sucks as an NFL QB ... that would be a sound basis for his suspension.

[Bill Swerski]

Unless Vick is actually convicted of something here what exactly will be the basis for a suspension?

 

Behavior detrimental to the league. You don't have to commit a crime to get the boot, especially when a specific provision for "bad behavior" is in the CBA. This happens at the university level as well (e.g., Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price).

[Goopster24]

Behavior detrimental to the league. You don't have to commit a crime to get the boot, especially when a specific provision for "bad behavior" is in the CBA. This happens at the university level as well (e.g., Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price).

 

 

Exactly, look at Pacman.

[Grits and Shins]

Behavior detrimental to the league. You don't have to commit a crime to get the boot, especially when a specific provision for "bad behavior" is in the CBA. This happens at the university level as well (e.g., Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price).

 

 

Again ... couldn't half the league be suspended on such loose criteria as "behavior detrimental to the league"? Is the real issue that the league has finally realized that he is at best an average QB and NOT the star everybody expected him to be ... and because of that he doesn't get the "get out of jail" perks that all the other stars do?

Edited May 16, 2007 by Grits and Shins

[alexgaddis]

Again ... couldn't half the league be suspended on such loose criteria as "behavior detrimental to the league"? Is the real/i] issue that the league has finally realized that he is at best an average QB and NOT the star everybody expected him to be ... and because of that he doesn't get the "get out of jail" perks that all the other stars do?

 

noob

[Bill Swerski]

Again ... couldn't half the league be suspended on such loose criteria as "behavior detrimental to the league"? Is the real/i] issue that the league has finally realized that he is at best an average QB and NOT the star everybody expected him to be ... and because of that he doesn't get the "get out of jail" perks that all the other stars do?

 

I think it has more to do with the fact that Vick has done some incredibly dumb crap over the past 6 months than his fading star power. If he had flipped off the Falcons fans, gotten caught trying to sneak Josh Gordon onto a plane, and been involved in an illegal dog-fighting scandal two years ago, there would've been ample talk of his suspension.

 

IMO, the high-profile coverage of Vick's transgressions is the league's problem. If nobody was covering any of these three stories, Goodell would've probably sweeped it all under the rug.

[Grits and Shins]

I think it has more to do with the fact that Vick has done some incredibly dumb crap over the past 6 months than his fading star power. If he had flipped off the Falcons fans, gotten caught trying to sneak Josh Gordon onto a plane, and been involved in an illegal dog-fighting scandal two years ago, there would've been ample talk of his suspension.

 

IMO, the high-profile coverage of Vick's transgressions is the league's problem. If nobody was covering any of these three stories, Goodell would've probably sweeped it all under the rug.

 

 

i.e. ... because of his stupidity.