PFT.com calls out ESPN for Michael Vick news coverage

SRW · Jul 7, 2007

Yesterday ESPN reported that Michael Vick will not be charged in the dog fighting case. Well.....not so fast....seems like there is some ESPN bias going on with this story.....Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk.com breaks it down:

ESPN PLAYING BOTH SIDES OF VICK FENCE

In May, ESPN reported that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is a heavyweight in the dog fighting world.

Now, on the same day that the federal agents returned to Vick's Surry County, Virginia property for the first time in more than four weeks to search for "more" animal remains, ESPN is reporting that Vick is unlikely to be indicted.

So, basically, the net result of ESPN's reporting is that Vick is a dog fighter, and that he will get away with his crimes.

Frankly, we don't buy it. We've inspected the documents obtained on Friday by the Associated Press, and they outline a dog-fighting operation so detailed and extensive that there's no way any reasonable person would believe that Vick was unaware of the venture, especially if those early reports from Virginia television stations regarding the frequency of his visits to the property are remotely accurate.

In support of its latest premise, ESPN's report seems to emphasize the notion that Vick isn't named in the federal complaint aimed at securing legal possession of the dogs that were seized from the property. But no one is named in the complaint. Thus, under the same reasoning, no one will be indicted.

Also, the presence of Len Pasquarelli's name in the report makes it automatically suspect, in our opinion. Pasquarelli has been the most ardent Vick apologist since news of the apparent dog-fighting operation first broke, due in large part (we believe) to Pasquarelli's friendship with Vick's agent, Joel Segal.

For the past two months, Pasquarelli has been urging folks not to jump to conclusions prematurely. So why should anyone conclude at this point that the guy who owned the property that hosted the dog fights won't be held legally responsible?

ESPN reports that at least three people are expected to be indicted. But that could merely be the first wave of the indictments. Doesn't anyone think that the folks who are charged will receive offers of leniency or immunity in exchange for giving up others who might have been involved?

And why would the feds tell the Falcons, the league, or anyone else that Vick likely won't be indicted? If that aspect of the report is true, maybe the feds are hoping that Vick will let his guard down a bit, perhaps by not focusing his efforts on ensuring that the guys who get indicted won't snitch.

The bottom line is that it's still far too early to conclude that Vick will be, or won't be, charged with a crime. And we still think that the feds got involved in this matter in order to send the strongest possible message to the rest of us regarding the connection between crime and the consequences thereof. The only way to do that is to fully and completely explore whether charges can be pursued against Vick. The only way to know that is to round up the suspects, put their nuts in a vise, and hope that someone will tell the truth about Vick's knowledge of (if any) and involvement in (if any) the dog-fighting operation that was housed on the property he owned.

But, hey, if Vick is never indicted, we will remind everyone that ESPN's report was spot on. The flip side of this coin, however, is that if/when Vick gets charged, we'll likely revisit the subject.
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FEDS FOUND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR

The Virginian-Pilot reports that federal investigators on Friday removed 10 dog carcasses from shallow graves on property owned by Falcons quarterback Mike Vick in Surry County, Virginia.

"The found what they were looking for," a source told the Virginian-Pilot.

In June, the feds reportedly found seven dead animals on the property.

Even if Vick is ultimately not charged for the extensive dog-fighting operation housed on property that he owned, the fact that this kind of stuff was happening on real estate registered to a prominent NFL quarterback is significant, and it likely will prompt calls from animal rights groups for some type of punishment of Vick.

If Vick ultimately is indicted on dog-fighting charges, all hell could break loose, with NFL sponsors and partners rising up and demanding action.

Given that corporate sponsors were able to bully MSNBC and CBS Radio into dumping Don Imus for making an off-color joke, the NFL will find itself in a very delicate position if the guy who not long ago was one of the faces of the entire league is facing allegations that he knowingly hosted and/or participated in animal fighting.
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And the last one posted this morning (and my personal favorite):

A VICK SUMMARY AND REALITY CHECK

On Friday, ESPN proclaimed that Falcons quarterback Mike Vick likely won't be indicted by federal authorities in connection with the investigation regarding the dog-fighting operation, known according to a federal complaint as "Bad Newz Kennels," that was housed on property that he owns.

On Friday night, we called out ESPN for trying to play both sides of the fence on the Vick issue, reporting on one hand that he's a "heavyweight" among dog fighters and on the other hand that he's likely to get away with it.

Apparently, the Friday night/Saturday morning mission of chief Vick apologist Len Pasquarelli was to try to harmonize the contradictory ESPN reports.

Good luck with that.

Amazingly, Len characterizes the overall events of Friday, on which federals investigators wanted to find, and did find, ten more dog carcasses in shallow graves on property that Vick owns (did we mention that he owns the property where the dead dogs were found?) as a positive for Vick, since it came with the news that he's not likely to be named in the first wave of indictments.

In the last line of the story, Len calls Friday's events a "respite" for Vick and the Falcons organization.

A respite? What will he call the day that Vick does a perp walk? A brief detour through a meadow of daisies?

Though Pasquarelli (and, vicariously, ESPN) acknowledges that Vick shouldn't exhale yet and that the "ongoing investigation" could still entangle the guy who owns the property hosting the dog fighting operation named for the slang reference to the town where he was raised, the overall tone of Len's latest item is that Vick is, was, and probably will be deemed innocent, and that anyone who thinks otherwise either is jumping to unwarranted conclusions, or is a racist.

But let's summarize the available evidence:

1. Vick owned the property from which more than 50 dogs and evidence of dog fighting were seized in late April.

2. Vick's first and only comments came two days after the initial search, when evidence and details were still sketchy. "I'm never at the house," he said on April 27. "I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing."

How in the hell could Vick know that his family members "haven't been doing the right thing" only two days after the search happened? It was, in our view, a colossal slip by Vick, since only someone who had knowledge of what was happening there would have enough information to publicly blame his family members for it.

3. Vick has only ever said "I'm never at the house." Somehow, his contention has been mangled by the "real" media into "I'm rarely at the house."

The distinction is HUGE.

In a case like this, where there likely will be no direct evidence of Vick's presence at a dog fight, circumstantial evidence is critical. Given the size and the scope of the dog fighting operation, any credible evidence to contradict his "I'm never at the house" routine is devastating to the Sgt. Schulz defense that Mike tried to float before the lawyers crammed a sock in his throat.

4. Multiple reports later surfaced from credible media operations like SI.com and ESPN's Outside the Lines linking Vick directly to dog fighting. Chris Landry of FOX Sports Radio said that Ray Buchanan of FOX Sports Radio (and formerly of the Falcons) explained during the weekend of the draft that Vick was clearly involved in dog fighting and openly talked about it in the locker room. When confronted with the issue, Buchanan gave (in our opinion) an extremely unconvincing explanation, and it was clear to us that his sole motivation was and is to avoid snitching on a current NFL player.

5. Through all of the media reports tying him to dog fighting, Vick and his handlers have not uttered a single peep. In a court of law, silence cannot be regarded as evidence of guilt. In the court of public opinion, the notion of a truly innocent man saying nothing at all as his name and reputation are dragged through the dog doo-doo by false and fabricated media reports is downright damning.

6. Federal authorities have twice been to the property, and have removed a total of 17 dog carcasses. The fact that they got what they were looking for suggests that they have an informant who is giving them solid information. Thus, it's unlikely that many (any) of those dogs died of natural causes, but that the bodies instead are evidence that (as alleged in the federal complaint filed earlier this week) the members of the Bad Newz Kennels often killed canines that had been on the losing end of a fight.

7. In June, Vick's cousin who lived at the house, Davon Boddie, gave a bizarre interview to WAVY-TV, during which he claimed that the dogs found in April had been planted on the property by folks who snuck through the woods.

Folks, if you add all that up and apply some basic common sense, it doesn't look pretty for the guy that owned the property that housed the dog-fighting operation.

Also, there's no evidence that the feds have interviewed Vick or Boddie or anyone else who knows anything about the situation. Our guess is that the authorities are wisely and prudently and patiently getting their forensic evidence buttoned up before they start turning the screws up on the suspects.

That specific aspect of the investigation could lead to all sorts of interesting outcomes. If anyone lies to investigators, they'll be subject to the Martha Stewart/Scooter Libby treatment. If they exercises their constitutional right not to speak, they are inviting indictments, since they will have provided investigators with nothing to refute any conclusions that have been drawn regarding potential guilt.

In light of everything set forth above, and given the current status of the investigation, we firmly believe that anyone who thinks that the man: (1) who owned the property; (2) who initially claimed that he never goes there; (3) who blamed his family members for "not doing the right thing" at a time when it was too early to conclude that anyone had done anything wrong; and (4) who has since kept his mouth shut in the face of damaging evidence is not the chief suspect in and ultimate target of the ongoing investigation is naive, stupid, biased, or some combination of the three.
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Omen · Jul 8, 2007

its not good o be named mike vick right now, what i have a problem with is this............we all know our family members i know which ones i would leave at my home unattended and which ones i wouldnt bc they would end up doing some unlawfull going ons there

RedskinsNo.1 · Jul 11, 2007

too right omen, even if he wasn't involved he must have known something was going on

PSID412USM · Jul 11, 2007

ESPN sucks it just talking heads with crap opinions.

RedskinsNo.1 · Jul 11, 2007

Lol i suppose thats one way off putting it,

PSID412USM · Jul 11, 2007

To me Michael Vick at the moment is like the WWE Randy Orton. They are loved by Management, Some fans like them (The Psycho stalker who panic if Randy isn't on a show) & no matter what they do or are link with they get away will it.

Make me sick.

brakos82 · Jul 11, 2007

PSID412USM said: ↑

ESPN sucks it just talking heads with crap opinions.
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I think I saw a loose nail rattling around in their heads somewhere...

RedskinsNo.1 · Jul 11, 2007

I agree totally, i find it more annoying than anything else

BarlOwens · Jul 11, 2007

its not sports..I don't give a heck...the extensive coverage is worthless...if he goes to jail, report it..leave it alone until something happens that actually determines he's fate on the football field..

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PFT.com calls out ESPN for Michael Vick news coverage

SRW Ex-World's Worst Site Admin

Omen Speeling Be Champions Staff Member

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

PSID412USM Pro Bowler

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

PSID412USM Pro Bowler

brakos82 30% more cats than last year!

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

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Log in or Sign up

PFT.com calls out ESPN for Michael Vick news coverage

SRW Ex-World's Worst Site Admin

Omen Speeling Be Champions Staff Member

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

PSID412USM Pro Bowler

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

PSID412USM Pro Bowler

brakos82 30% more cats than last year!

RedskinsNo.1 R.I.P Sean Taylor

BarlOwens Rubicon Runner

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