Pressure Will Rise To Suspend Vick

In what were statements written by their lawyers, the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons offered very weak reactions to   the indictment of Michael Vick.

Here's what the lawyers from the NFL put together. "We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him. We will continue to closely monitor developments in this case, and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts. The matter will be reviewed under the league's Personal Conduct Policy."

Here's what came out of the Atlanta Falcons. "This situation has been troubling to many people, including our fans, during the last few months. With today’s news, our club and team will continue to be tested as Michael works through the legal process toward a conclusion.We are disappointed that one of our players – and therefore the Falcons – is being presented to the public in a negative way, and we apologize to our fans and the community for that.Obviously, we are disturbed by today’s news from Virginia. However, we are prepared to deal with it, and we will do the right thing for our club as the legal process plays out. We have a season to prepare for and training camp opens next week. Our plan is to continue to do everything we can to support our players and coaches."

As more and more of the details come out, I think there's going to be a ground swell of pressure for the NFL to  suspend Michael Vick. The Commissioner has already set a standard that leaves the door open to suspending a player if he damages the reputation of the league. There's no question that this Vick indictment hurts the reputation of the league.  As far as I'm concerned the indictment does much more damage to the image of the league than the escapades of Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson.  Vick is the face ot the Atlanta Falcons and one of the NFL's Superstars.

There will also be an enormous amount of pressure on Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank to suspend Vick, but he will be reluctant to do that in a city like Atlanta where this controversy is coming down along racial lines.  The lawyers for Vick will probably start trying their case in the public and begin putting out negative information about the informants who have to be bad guys.   If you think this case is ugly now, you haven't seen anything yet.