Vick's guilty plea will not admit gambling, killing dog

When Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleads guilty on Monday, he will not admit to gambling on dogfights or killing dogs, only being present when dogs were killed, a person familiar with plea negotiations told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.

The negotiations over wording in the plea agreement, first reported by ESPN, have been ongoing this week.Vick is expected to enter a plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond to a single conspiracy count of crossing state lines to sponsor dogs in dogfighting, the person familiar with negotiations said.

"That's a great move for him," said Atlanta criminal defense attorney Jerry Froelich, who has followed the case. "He still has the problem of what his co-defendants have said he did. That's all a part of the court record."

But if Vick can avoid admitting to gambling, it could help him in his attempt to eventually return to the NFL once he completes the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.

The NFL's anti-gambling policy states that a player can be suspended indefinitely or have his contract terminated if he "knowingly associates with gamblers or gambling activity." In at least three prior cases in NFL history, players have been suspended indefinitely for gambling, then reinstated after one year. The league has banned Vick, pending its own investigation of the case.

Vick agreed to plead guilty on Monday, before a federal grand jury in Richmond convened to consider more serious dogfight charges against him.

Vick's three co-defendants — Tony Taylor, Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace — previously pleaded guilty to the Virginia dogfighting operation.

Peace, Phillips and Taylor have each signed documents saying Vick almost exclusively bankrolled their dogfighting business — called Bad Newz Kennels. Also, Vick joined Peace and Phillips in executing eight dogs they didn't think would fight well in or about April — by various means, including hanging and drowning, Peace and Phillips said in statements they signed with prosecutors. According to the statements, the dogs died as a collective effort of the three men.

News Added: 25 August, 2007

Number of views : 138