I'm going to do some follow up here on a story that has taken on national prominence, because it involves a high-profile athlete.
Evidence is mounting now against Michael Vick in his involvement in a dog fighting ring that was discovered on one of his properties.
WVEC-TV has found a couple of sources that have said they've seen Vick at these dog fights at the home.
The concerning thing about the story (especially if you watch the video) is that it looks to me like the local prosecuter is going to butcher this case. Apparently Vick has already sold the home (for about 1/2 of the appraised value), which doesn't seem right given that it's a felony crime scene and should be evidence in the case. Also, it appears as if the prosecuter Gerald Poindexter seems like he's not looking at all the evidence gathered by officials, and has turned down offers of help from people around the country that have had success prosecuting dog-fighting.
I'm pretty certain that Vick is going to be able to get the best lawyer money can buy...so I have concerns that Poindexter is either a) out of his league or b) somehow involved and doesn't want to prosecute this too badly.
Meanwhile, ESPN has found a source inside the dog-fighting community that links Vick to "bringing good dogs and lots of money" to dog fights. Read the article, but I can't recommend watching the video. HSUS has supplied ESPN with its dog-fighting footage and ESPN was more than happy to apparently to show the graphic videos -- -that are honestly unwatchable. It's really disappointing of ESPN to show that much footage, and if there wasn't so much else to do, they'd probably get a letter too.
ESPN also did a nice job on the video coverage of the story in getting another player, Kassim Osgood, who looks like a wonderful pit bull owner, to step up and speak out against this. Hopefully Osgood, and others like him will pressure the league to do the right thing and severely punish Vick (who looks more and more guilty every second).
KCDA has sent official statements to the NFL, and to Nike (who pays Vick handsomely as a spokesperson)...we don't have that much clout on a national level, but it can't hurt.
If someone isn't brought down, and brought down hard, the free press dog fighting has gotten will ensure we all see a rise in dog fighting in our communities.
I have contacted everyone I can think of related to this case to set up a reward fund for information, no one will get back with me. I hope its because they have found conclusive HARD evidence (not just hearsay by a fuzzy figure on TV) on Vick's involvement and just don't want to let it out. It worries me that Poindexter will screw it up even though the informant is painting a clear picture...
Posted by: Michelled | May 30, 2007 at 09:54 AM