NFL has to bench Vick now
By Terry Frei
Denver Post Columnist
Article Last Updated: 07/19/2007 10:06:43 AM MDT

About Michael Vick …

Suspend the jerk.

I tend to be a contrarian, and I tried not to join the bandwagon on this one. Among many other things, I was going to ask: Didn’t the Duke lacrosse mess remind us that charges in a grand jury indictment aren’t automatically true? In a market in which many of us justifiably excoriate Barry Bonds as a disgrace, yet many fans and (even more disgracefully) newspaper writers still portray Bill Romanowski as a charming rogue, can’t we at least wonder about our adjustable standards?

Those still are points to ponder. But the disturbing information in the federal grand jury indictment against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others is overwhelming. Vick is

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convincingly linked to the horrific dogfighting operation on his property in rural Virginia, mocking his Who, me? claims of innocence.
This is not a dishonorable district attorney taking advantage of a malleable local grand jury. It stems from a careful federal proceeding, and the paucity of leaks was such that there were erroneous reports in recent days that Vick wouldn’t be indicted.

Under the NFL’s heightened off-field conduct standards, commissioner Roger Goodell has been willing to judge in advance of the frequently glacial legal system, and that’s another justification for him suspending Vick. He’s done it before, and everyone understands that it’s now as much a part of the NFL system as instant replay.

Yes, I believe the worst. Vick is a scumbag. The Falcons even would be well-advised to suspend him before Goodell has to step in.

On Wednesday, I called my brother, David, in New York to get his perspective. Why? He followed our father into the NFL, working as a public-relations executive with both the Broncos and the 49ers before moving into his own PR agency and the restaurant business. He also is the longtime television analyst on the Westminster Kennel Club and National dog shows, and he now is the full-time director of communications for the WKC. He and his wife, Cheri, walk their Brittany spaniels on the Upper East Side and are involved in programs utilizing dogs in hospital therapy work.

Michael Vick and people like him in all of this - and I guess we need to say ‘allegedly’ - are supposed to be great warriors, Dave said. They should understand that having a dog fighting to the death is not what a warrior is all about, especially if they’re the ones making it happen. The reality is people look up to these guys.

We’re going to hear that it’s the ‘culture’ and those kinds of things. Well, it’s not a ‘culture’ to have a loyal, brave and courageous animal fight to the death so we can be entertained or gamble on it. That’s not what entertainment, that’s not what being a warrior is all about. It’s sickening.

What about all these kids out there in those number 7 jerseys? You’re going to tell them that it’s OK? It’s a proven fact that someone who’s involved in animal abuse as a youngster, as they get older they’re more prone to be involved in domestic abuse - or worse. They don’t have any regard for living things. Those people who are involved are all cowards.

In 2006, the WKC’s best in show winner was a colored bull terrier, Rufus. The unfortunate offshoot of misuse and irresponsible breeding of bull terriers is that the pit bull label often is indiscriminately applied, even in local laws that ban specific breeds - as Denver does. Fact is, while the United Kennel Club registers an American pit bull terrier, it’s more of a contrived term than it is a specific breed, and the more predominant American Kennel Club doesn’t follow suit. Pit bulls - the dogs used in fighting, or simply as an alleged confirmation of an owner’s toughness - are mixed breeds, most often starting with a Staffordshire bull terrier as a base.

There are some cities in this country where Rufus can’t go, Dave said. But I’ve been all kinds of places with this dog and he loves everybody.

Yet the bull terrier and the offshoots, Dave said, at first were bred to be protectors. But because they’re loyal and courageous and tough, if they fall into the wrong hands, people can redirect those personality traits and that temperament to be aggressive. It’s too bad, because they can be the most loving, happy pets. But we’re walking down the street in New York, and there are too many of them. People have them who shouldn’t have them. If you need a macho dog to show you’re macho, you’re not.

Some of these guys seem to think they can get a dog like that and put a bunch of chains on it and walk down the street with it on a 10-foot leash, wreaking havoc, that’s some recognition that they’re tough guys.

Suspending Vick in advance of the legal system’s verdict might do little to chip away at that mentality, but it’s the right thing for the NFL to do.

Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.