LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – Falcons quarterback Michael Vick faces a deadline today to accept what may be the best possible deal from federal prosecutors in his dogfighting conspiracy case, but no matter what he decides, his NFL future is very much in doubt and in the hands of commissioner Roger Goodell.
Vick and his attorneys continued negotiating with prosecutors yesterday, with two more of Vick’s codefendants scheduled to enter into plea agreements this morning in Richmond, Va. If Vick does not enter into his own plea arrangement, then a grand jury will hear additional testimony against Vick on Monday with a superseding indictment carrying more charges likely to follow.
Vick’s lawyers were working on the plea deal with federal prosecutors late last night, according to the Associated Press.
The indictment alleges Vick’s involvement included illegal gambling on the dogfights, which could be his biggest problem with the NFL. League policy states that a player could be banned for life for illegal gambling or associating with gamblers.
“(The gambling) is certainly an issue,” Goodell said yesterday at Browns training camp. “Law enforcement may be concerned about certain things about this. We may be concerned about other aspects of this. That’s why we want to evaluate what the government has. We don’t know all of the facts on that. Michael’s team may not know all the facts at this point in time.”
