Vick Indicted in dog fighting probe............

[youandme]

Alright recap I've talked with Coca-Cola and they state that they let Vick go quite some time ago, and are "no longer what so ever associated with Michael Vick"

Talked to Nike and they shrugged it off and told me they will take my comments into consideration, and listen to whatever suggestions I have on the matter.
Nike has no doubt recieved numerous emails of the same nature, and it's really hurting them.

Emailed Hasbro and awaiting their comments. A toy company should have dropped him a LOONG time ago when he was involved in the marijuana incident at the airport.

Contacted Kraft foods...no response...by phone they put me on hold and disconnected.

Rawlings has yet to respond.



All of this makes a HUGE difference, Powerade transfered me to their assistant publicist, consumers make and break companies.

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Alright recap I've talked with Coca-Cola and they state that they let Vick go quite some time ago, and are "no longer what so ever associated with Michael Vick"

Talked to Nike and they shrugged it off and told me they will take my comments into consideration, and listen to whatever suggestions I have on the matter.
Nike has no doubt recieved numerous emails of the same nature, and it's really hurting them.

Emailed Hasbro and awaiting their comments. A toy company should have dropped him a LOONG time ago when he was involved in the marijuana incident at the airport.

Contacted Kraft foods...no response...by phone they put me on hold and disconnected.

Rawlings has yet to respond.



All of this makes a HUGE difference, Powerade transfered me to their assistant publicist, consumers make and break companies.

 So include some contact information for the rest of us so that we can call as well.

[youandme]

So include some contact information for the rest of us so that we can call as well.

Ok, can't get direct email addresses for many due to spam laws.

Nike
Phone: 503-671-6453
Toll Free: 800-344-6543

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=37

Hasbro
Phone: 401-431-8697
http://www.hasbro.com/default.cfm?page=cs_contact


Kraft
Phone: 847-646-2000
1-800-622-4726
http://www.kraft.com/contactus/template.aspx?m=contact_us

Rawlings
Phone: 314-819-2800
http://www.rawlings.com/

Vick's website is still up but the message board is closed

Reputation is very important, will the company choose his reputation over their owns?

[pumpster]

Recent article, followed by some gems from readers:

What’s Next for N.F.L. and Michael Vick?
NY Times

This morning’s story on an indictment that ties Michael Vick to a slew of ugly dogfighting charges left off with the question of “how the league, the Falcons and Vick would deal with his legal troubles in the weeks ahead.”

We asked Judy Battista, N.F.L. reporter for The Times, to pick up from there. She kindly obliged us, explaining why she thinks the N.F.L. may “tread carefully”:
I think the NFL can do whatever it wants, theoretically. In previous cases, they have not waited for players to be convicted to discipline them under the new personal conduct policy.

Pacman Jones was suspended because he was repeatedly in run-ins with the law and because he “embarrassed” the league. So, theoretically, the NFL could discipline Vick whenever it wants.

However, I think they’ll tread carefully. This is Vick’s first offense, even though the indictment indicates he’s been breaking the law for years. But he has never been arrested in the past, has had no prior trouble, like Jones did, so the NFL might be reluctant to slap him with a suspension before letting it play out a bit in the courts.
And Vick is by far the highest profile player to be in this serious a mess. Most fans wouldn’t know Pacman Jones if he walked into their living rooms. But Vick is one of a handful of NFL players who are recognizable. He is one of the highest paid players in the game and he is the face of the Falcons. That puts the team and the league in a tough spot.

On the other hand, Roger Goodell has made improving the behavior of players a cornerstone of his tenure as commissioner. He has not hesitated to deal quickly and harshly with players who misbehave. Vick’s alleged crimes are particularly horrible, and the kind of thing that generates enormous outrage from the public.

How the commissioner balances that against a desire to give Vick every opportunity to clear his name will be interesting to follow.

15 comments so far...

1.July 18th,
2007
5:29 pm From what I’ve read about this case, there is very very little doubt that Vick is guilty. The horrors of the vicious executions of the dogs, not to mention the fighting, make me wonder if this brainless jock has any morals at all. I think he shouldn’t just be banned from the sport, but punished extremely, possibly by a 2-year tour in Baghdad.

— Posted by Dan Stackhouse
2.July 18th,
2007
5:37 pm If Vick is guilty, I would love to see him electrocuted. I’ll volunteer to happily pull the switch!

— Posted by Cheri Lazar
3.July 18th,
2007
5:42 pm If he’s guilty as charged, he should be chopped up and fed to the dogs!

— Posted by gershon
4.July 18th,
2007
5:47 pm The NFL is crazy if they have even the slightest inclination to go easy on a guy who will plausibly be labeled as a “puppy killer”. Please also remember that PETA’s headquarters are right down the road from where this inhumane atrocity took place. This is going to be a public relations nightmare.

— Posted by Roger
5.July 18th,
2007
5:48 pm Unless Vick starts going into the homes of American football fans and killing their dogs, I don’t see fans caring a whole hell of a lot about this. From the reports I’ve read, the whole affair sounds sordid and disgusting, but considering what some professional athletes have been accused of (and in some cases convicted of) doing to humans, I think this story is going to be one of those things that peters out quickly.

— Posted by J
6.July 18th,
2007
5:49 pm What does dog-fighting have to do with football? Or should I say ‘Football’? People were dog-fighting long before football.

— Posted by colin campbell
7.July 18th,
2007
5:52 pm If he is guilty he should be banned from the NFL and prosecuted for cruelty to animals. There is no excuse.

— Posted by Paul Gabbert
8.July 18th,
2007
5:53 pm Vick is already implicated but he remains innocent. If Goodell takes action against Vick it only raises the bar for the NFL as this allegation unfolds. It becomes a soft acknowledgment that Vick is guilty. That is a poor decision for both the NFL and Goodell. I assume Goodell will not take corrective action until further evidence is presented that will bring an indictment against Vick.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a ‘fall guy’ pops up that takes the heat off Vick and this fades away.

— Posted by Marcus Torchia
9.July 18th,
2007
5:55 pm I think that the same policy that are placed on young male canines should be applied on Mr. Vick although my guess is that he has sired a lot of little Vick puppies in his few years. What a culture!

— Posted by Charles Cohen
10.July 18th,
2007
5:56 pm # 2 Cheri Lazar suggests that Vick’s life is less valuable than the life of dogs. Says a lot about her

— Posted by Kwadwo
11.July 18th,
2007
5:59 pm Michael Vick and his brother, Marcus, are both common thugs who have a misplaced sense of entitlement because of their athletic prowress. Michael was quick to defend his brother after Marcus was dismissed from the Virginia Tech football squad for a litany of thug-like behaviors and run-ins with the law. This may be the first time the elder Vick has faced charges, but remember, the allegations are that he has been engaging in horrendous and on-going criminal activity for about five years; this is not like a first-time offense committed by an upstanding citizen. Michael Vick is a scumbag who belongs in prison and deserves a life-time ban from professional football.

— Posted by James
12.July 18th,
2007
6:00 pm Vick’s even peripheral involvement with dog fighting on his property is at the least shameful and negligent, and at the most vicious, cruel, and iniquitous. Either way, it is evidence of a lack of integrity and decency. This “sport” gives humanity a bad name.

— Posted by v Paiz
13.July 18th,
2007
6:01 pm I am completely overwhelmed by this story and feel great disgust in this man. I never liked him before and I certainly don’t like him now. He is a poor excuse for an athlete and role model. Kids look up to these “superstars” and this is a terrible thing for them to see. I hope he is charged with the multiple crimes and is sentenced to the highest level of punishment possible. He does not deserve to be making millions and walking around the streets as if he did nothing wrong! Who does he think he is??? No animal deserves to be treated this way!!!

— Posted by Alana Medlin

[JimmyTheFish]

Ok, can't get direct email addresses for many due to spam laws.

Nike
Phone: 503-671-6453
Toll Free: 800-344-6543

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=37

Hasbro
Phone: 401-431-8697
http://www.hasbro.com/default.cfm?page=cs_contact


Kraft
Phone: 847-646-2000
1-800-622-4726
http://www.kraft.com/contactus/template.aspx?m=contact_us

Rawlings
Phone: 314-819-2800
http://www.rawlings.com/

Vick's website is still up but the message board is closed

Reputation is very important, will the company choose his reputation over their owns?

Thanks for posting this info -- I have called each -- got into it with a rude operator at Kraft, I finally gave up and called her a fat cuunt  --- they should make an example of this piece of shit ---

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Thanks for posting this info -- I have called each -- got into it with a rude operator at Kraft, I finally gave up and called her a fat cuunt  --- they should make an example of this piece of shit ---

What have you guys been saying to these idiots... Half of these yahoos didnt know who to put me in touch with....

[youandme]

What have you guys been saying to these idiots... Half of these yahoos didnt know who to put me in touch with....

I ask for their latest information on Michael Vick and ask that as a consumer I would like to talk to either sales, marketing, public relations, customer service, or a representive that can help me discuss my complaint.

All of these companies (exception Kraft  ) Have someone that deals with the customer relations department and once you voice your complaint and tell them that your a concerned customer, and that by buying their brand as they sponsor a "ill human being" relfects me and them equally and I refuse to associate myself with a brand allowing such a image.

I'm going to be asking Nike for refunds alloted to $900 for clothes and shoes I've bought within the past 2 months on my CC, and will show cause for returns.

I told Rawlings they have lost the respect of a athlete and avid purchaser of their products since I was a kid, and would like to know how I can return my purchases (have not made in in the last 10 yrs, though)

Hasbro should speak for themselves I asked, that as a parent (I'm not a parent) how would they like for their child to play video games with a "ill human being" representitive campaing for their company, before she could answer I interjected that "so when does the company start making bloody dog dolls, and gang land dog fights" she then phoned my call to the Sr. Publicist ast. and I told her I am not going to buy or support the company and it would be in their best interest to cut off the contract with Vick.

Coca-Cola was stern in trying ot find out the outlets which reported their ongoing endorsement of Vick, they made it clear they are not associated with him. I thanked her but reminded her that the storm may pass but the damage remains, and asked what qualifications do they set for the athletes that represent them? Cause seems gatorade has honor and integrity.


Also Nike has IM and the reps (everytime) have to report such a complaint to their CRM department.

[youandme]

I got nowhere with Kraft, which pissed me off seeing as how they target kids, one visit to nabisco world and you shrug in digust that they would have someone like Vick on their pay roll.....

[TrapsMcLats]

Great article from Doyel on cbs sportsline

http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10260902

Michael Vick can't play this season. You know that, right? He cannot play. Not for the Atlanta Falcons. Not for anybody, not anywhere, not at any time. Not until he is clear of the charges leveled against him by the federal government.

And if he's not cleared of those charges? If he's found guilty of sponsoring a macabre dogfighting ring? Then the NFL has seen the last of Michael Vick.

   
Distractions will follow Michael Vick and the Falcons every step of the way if he plays. (Getty Images)   
Don't give me "due process." Look around you. Do you see a court of law? Do you see a judge, a jury, a lawyer, a bailiff? The NFL is not the U.S. judicial system, and for the sake of this argument, Michael Vick is not a defendant. He's a football player who has been accused of something so serious, something so heinous, that the NFL cannot in good faith allow him to represent the most popular sports league in this country.

Don't give me "innocent until proven guilty." Michael Vick has no inalienable right to play football this season or any season for the Atlanta Falcons. Our colonial militia didn't throw tea in the Boston Harbor so Michael Vick, some 230 years later, could play football for the Falcons. U.S. soldiers have not died in wars all over the world, and are not dying right now in the Middle East, so Michael Vick can throw a football.

Don't give me "the presumption of innocence." The NFL isn't deciding whether Vick will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The NFL only has to decide whether Vick should, or should not, be allowed to play while the most sordid sports story in years plays out.

Michael Vick simply cannot play this season. Surely you understand that. His first court date is July 26, the same day the Falcons are scheduled to begin training camp. That's a nice touch, but think further ahead to when the Falcons are getting ready for their season opener Sept. 9 at Minnesota. At the same time he will be trying to prepare his offense for the Vikings, Vick will be helping prepare his defense for a nasty court case that will decide his freedom.

He won't be ready to play for the Falcons. Not at quarterback, where the mental side is so critical. It wouldn't be fair to Vick to ask him to play with this court case hanging over his head, and if it sounds like I'm being sympathetic to Vick's plight, I'm not. He has been accused of crimes that offend me greatly, and if he's found guilty, I hope he spends so much time in jail that he dies there. Dog fighting? Dog killing? Only the scum of the earth partake in such an atrocity.

Think ahead to Sept. 16, when the Falcons visit Jacksonville. There are also trips to Tennessee, New Orleans, Carolina, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Phoenix. In every city, Michael Vick will bring the circus. Animal cruelty foes will picket stadiums. Fans will be ugly, maybe cruel, possibly even criminal. Things will be thrown at Vick. Things will be yelled.

For those eight Sundays on the road, Michael Vick will be hated like no visiting player has ever been hated.

Baseball villain Barry Bonds thinks he has it tough when he goes on the road? Bonds is only accused of being a jerk and a cheat. Vick has been accused of killing dogs, which ought to earn him the malice of even the home crowd. Any idea how many NFL fans own a dog? Me neither, but it's a large number. And every last one of them should hate Vick. At this moment I do, and he hasn't even been found guilty yet.

But he has been charged, and not just anywhere. He has been charged in federal court, and for those who don't know what that means, let me tell you: It means Vick is almost certainly guilty. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 99 percent of the people indicted by the federal government between 2000 and 2005 were convicted.

Did you catch that number? It was 99 percent. Guilty. How can that be? This is how: The U.S. government doesn't indict just anybody, and certainly wouldn't indict Vick or anyone else for headlines. The government is far too busy and far too cheap to waste its time and money pursuing a trial against a defendant that has even a remote chance of winning. The U.S. government only indicts you if it believes it can and will convict you.

The NFL has to know that percentage. So does Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. They have to know that Michael Vick, in all probability -- say, 99 percent -- will be convicted of masterminding a dogfighting operation. And if he is convicted, he will go to jail for a long, long time. Which means his NFL career is finished.

So why let him play now? This isn't a guy who deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has shown horrible judgment over and over, from the Ron Mexico herpes incident to the middle finger he showed the home crowd to the James Bond water bottle he used in an unsuccessful attempt at sneaking marijuana jewelry onto an airplane. None of those cases led to any sort of conviction in a court of law, but Pacman Jones is serving a one-year suspension from the NFL and as of today, he has been convicted of nothing. He hasn't even been indicted by the federal government, as Vick has.

The Falcons deserve some relief, too. They would take a huge salary cap hit for releasing Vick, but that hit should be waived. The Falcons should not be forced to keep a poisonous person because of NFL salary cap ramifications. That is not the way anyone should want the NFL to operate. It's in the best interests of everyone in the NFL for Michael Vick to never again wear a uniform, so the Falcons should be cut some slack for releasing him.

The bleeding hearts among you -- the Vick fans, the gullible, the blind -- want to know how the NFL can keep an innocent man off the field.

I've got a better question:

How could the NFL possibly let him play?

[~flower~]

Tell the NFL to Suspend Michael Vick!


https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=11740930

[JimmyTheFish]

PETA ----- http://www.peta.org/MC/NewsItem.asp?id=10032


This morning, all of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's corporate sponsors, Falcons CEO Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell received a joint letter from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, civil rights leader The Rev. Al Sharpton, and PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk roundly condemning dogfighting and other forms of violence.

[JimmyTheFish]

After consulting with the Falcons, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and top league officials agreed Wednesday to let Vick play as the legal process determines the facts.   

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19814494/

[Vet]

PETA ----- http://www.peta.org/MC/NewsItem.asp?id=10032


This morning, all of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's corporate sponsors, Falcons CEO Arthur Blank, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell received a joint letter from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, civil rights leader The Rev. Al Sharpton, and PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk roundly condemning dogfighting and other forms of violence.

I'm sorry, but Al Sharpton and PETA really dont' do much.   I expect Sharpton to drop this one as soon as the media frenzy slows down and PETA will prove themselves to be useless as they have in the past with legitamate animal abuse cases. 

The thing that will accomplish the most is what the people on this board have done--get together and write the companies providing sponsership.  Once the sponsers start dropping him, others will follow.   I'm willing to bet the NFL is saying they will wait for legal proceedings to pan out, but as soon as a conviction (or it looks like a conviction) is going to happen, they drop him too. 

[knny187]

Am I reading this right....


Rev Al is going against a black man?

[JimmyTheFish]

Am I reading this right....


Rev Al is going against a black man?

Yes but I agree with Vet -- he clearly has a self serving agenda as usual -- just a media whore

[youandme]

Yes but I agree with Vet -- he clearly has a self serving agenda as usual -- just a media whore

That's disgusting, Sharpton jumping on the bandwagon only to save his color really, hypocrite.

NFL is making a bad move in this decision, I'm going to go buy tickets and refund them just to make a point, unless they are waiting for him to be formaly charged then suspend him, they should have worded the statment better.

[JimmyTheFish]

just heard that Nike is delaying the release of Vick's shoe until there is a verdict in the legal proceedings.

[~flower~]

Here's the indictment:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070718_Michael_Vick_indictment.pdf

[Vet]

Here's the indictment:

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070718_Michael_Vick_indictment.pdf

I really wish they'd have used the term "dogs" instead of "Pit bulls".   Thats just going to fuel the stupid people. 

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Nike has pulled the new Michael Vick shoe until the court hearings are over due to the amount of overwhelming calls. Great job folks but let's not stop there. He has plenty more people that still need to pull his paycheck. I mean he should be rich since he was betting upwards of 23,000 a dog fight. 

[G o a t b o y]

consumers make and break companies.

They do, but they are also fickle and have short memories.  Whether they choose to call sponsors and blow off steam right when news comes out or not, when it comes down to it people make buying decisions based on what's best for THEM (price, quality, features, availability, whatever), social issues notwithstanding.

SIx months from now if Nike comes out with a sneaker someone really likes at a good price, they're not gonna remember or care what Nike did or didn't do with Michael Vick in mid-2007.  Long-term and big picture, all these types of complaints ever amount to is noise.

[jmt1]

nike is holding back the shoe for now but eventually they wil drop him.   you can bet that nike is not going to let vick hurt their reputation.  not that they have a great rep as is, but it would get much worse and their not gonna want any part of this.  there are other high profile athletes out there for them to work with.

[youandme]

They do, but they are also fickle and have short memories.  Whether they choose to call sponsors and blow off steam right when news comes out or not, when it comes down to it people make buying decisions based on what's best for THEM (price, quality, features, availability, whatever), social issues notwithstanding.

SIx months from now if Nike comes out with a sneaker someone really likes at a good price, they're not gonna remember or care what Nike did or didn't do with Michael Vick in mid-2007.  Long-term and big picture, all these types of complaints ever amount to is noise.

Very true.

[pumpster]

N.F.L. Is Under Pressure Over Vick
         July 21, 2007
As animal rights activists demonstrated yesterday in front of the N.F.L.’s headquarters to urge the league to suspend Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, the league continued to grapple with the fallout from Vick’s federal indictment on charges related to dogfighting.

The league has decided not to suspend Vick immediately, preferring to wait for the case to progress. But N.F.L. and Falcons executives have discussed other options.

The delay in discipline has displeased some. Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, sent a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday, encouraging Goodell to suspend Vick immediately. And about 50 people joined a demonstration organized by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in front of the N.F.L.’s Park Avenue headquarters, some of them chanting “Sack Vick.”

Goodell was not at his office during the protest. Instead, he was meeting with officials from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Earlier this year, the N.F.L. and A.S.P.C.A. began working together on public-service announcements and programs to help educate players and the public on treating animals properly.

“We agree with them that dogfighting is cruel, degrading and illegal,” the N.F.L. spokesman Brian McCarthy said of the demonstrators. “The alleged activities are very disturbing and we are extremely disappointed Michael Vick has put himself in this position.”

Vick is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Richmond, Va., and could join the Falcons on Friday.

Among the many options N.F.L. and Falcons executives have discussed since the indictment was announced Tuesday is asking Vick to take a paid leave of absence from the team. That would relieve the Falcons of the possible distraction at Coach Bobby Petrino’s first training camp.

[JimmyTheFish]

No-nonsense judge gets Vick case
Henry Hudson has history of tough sentencing

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2007/07/18/0719vickjudge.html