08-20-2007, 07:21 PM
IS VICK GOING ALL IN?
With much uncertainty surrounding the outcome of an NFL suspension and possible Virginia charges, it could be that Mike Vick has opted to reject (for now) the possibility of pleading guilty to pending federal charges.
Indeed, a federal grand jury has convened in Richmond, and it's expected that the grand jury will indict Vick on additional charges.
If Vick's primary motivation is to get back onto the football field, and if there's no way of knowing when that will happen if he agrees to the pending plea offer, the only way that Vick will be able to return is by fighting the current charges (and any new counts) in the hopes of securing an acquittal.
If Vick pleads guilty, he likely won't be back in the NFL until 2009, at the very earliest. In fact, 2010 might be the more realistic season in which he would be allowed to return after spending a year or so in jail (which will wipe out, by the time his term starts, all of the 2007 and 2008 seasons) and after serving a post-prison suspension of one year.
If the suspension is stiffer, Vick waits even longer.
So while he'll be likely to face more than 20 years behind bars once he is indicted on the underlying federal violations that, for now, he is only charged with conspiring to commit, the quickest path back to the NFL is to fight the charges and win.
The stakes, of course, couldn't be higher. If Vick is convicted on all charges, he's looking at a long, long time behind bars -- possibly more than a decade.
On Friday, one of Vick's lawyers said that there is no deadline for accepting the plea deal, but that prosecutors wanted to wrap the thing up by the end of last week. Logic and common sense suggest that, with no deal announced as of Monday morning, Vick has decided to pass on the offer.
In fact, it's possible that the offer is no longer on the table.
If so, the federal authorities will move forward, with only one defendant on whom to focus. And our guess is that they will be even more determined and zealous in their pursuit of Vick, because the prosecutors surely believe that they made him a fair offer, which they likewise believe should have been accepted.
Moving forward, a new indictment likely will mean a new trial date. Our present guess is that the case will be set to start in early January, making it a direct distraction from the NFL postseason.
Also, look for Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend Vick for the 2007 season within the next two weeks. Although former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder apparently has not yet submitted a final report to Goodell, the admissions signed on Friday by Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace give the Commish all the ammo he needs to eject Vick from the game for the 2007 season, with further penalties possible based on the evidence presented at trial.
The bottom line? If Vick goes all in on these charges, he'll either play in the NFL in 2008. Or never again. With no way of knowing when or if a guilty plea on current charges would allow him to return to the league, and with pro football such a huge part of his identity, it's starting to look like that's the path he will choose.
With much uncertainty surrounding the outcome of an NFL suspension and possible Virginia charges, it could be that Mike Vick has opted to reject (for now) the possibility of pleading guilty to pending federal charges.
Indeed, a federal grand jury has convened in Richmond, and it's expected that the grand jury will indict Vick on additional charges.
If Vick's primary motivation is to get back onto the football field, and if there's no way of knowing when that will happen if he agrees to the pending plea offer, the only way that Vick will be able to return is by fighting the current charges (and any new counts) in the hopes of securing an acquittal.
If Vick pleads guilty, he likely won't be back in the NFL until 2009, at the very earliest. In fact, 2010 might be the more realistic season in which he would be allowed to return after spending a year or so in jail (which will wipe out, by the time his term starts, all of the 2007 and 2008 seasons) and after serving a post-prison suspension of one year.
If the suspension is stiffer, Vick waits even longer.
So while he'll be likely to face more than 20 years behind bars once he is indicted on the underlying federal violations that, for now, he is only charged with conspiring to commit, the quickest path back to the NFL is to fight the charges and win.
The stakes, of course, couldn't be higher. If Vick is convicted on all charges, he's looking at a long, long time behind bars -- possibly more than a decade.
On Friday, one of Vick's lawyers said that there is no deadline for accepting the plea deal, but that prosecutors wanted to wrap the thing up by the end of last week. Logic and common sense suggest that, with no deal announced as of Monday morning, Vick has decided to pass on the offer.
In fact, it's possible that the offer is no longer on the table.
If so, the federal authorities will move forward, with only one defendant on whom to focus. And our guess is that they will be even more determined and zealous in their pursuit of Vick, because the prosecutors surely believe that they made him a fair offer, which they likewise believe should have been accepted.
Moving forward, a new indictment likely will mean a new trial date. Our present guess is that the case will be set to start in early January, making it a direct distraction from the NFL postseason.
Also, look for Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend Vick for the 2007 season within the next two weeks. Although former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder apparently has not yet submitted a final report to Goodell, the admissions signed on Friday by Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace give the Commish all the ammo he needs to eject Vick from the game for the 2007 season, with further penalties possible based on the evidence presented at trial.
The bottom line? If Vick goes all in on these charges, he'll either play in the NFL in 2008. Or never again. With no way of knowing when or if a guilty plea on current charges would allow him to return to the league, and with pro football such a huge part of his identity, it's starting to look like that's the path he will choose.