Michael Vick Trying to Claim Bankruptcy

As I'm sure you've heard by now, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick plead guilty to charges of felony dog fighting in April 2007. Now the former NFL star is trying to file for Chapter 11 - without much success.

Judge Frank Santoro ordered Vick to come up with a different plan than the one he presented on April 3, saying that the $750,000 to $1 million dollars his current plan called for him paying to creditors right off the bat was impossible.

Vick is attempting to financially support his mother, brother (who's also been convicted of criminal charges and is out on a suspended sentence), fiancée, and his two children, in addition to some friends. Judge Santoro advised Vick to stop trying to be "everything to everybody." The judge also suggested that Vick sell one or both of his multi-million dollar homes in Virginia, or any of the three cars he still owns, all of which he intended to keep as part of this plan. Quality advice for someone who doesn't seem to make very good choices for himself.

Also, Judge Santoro ruled that the bankruptcy plan leaned too heavily on the prospect of Vick returning to a high-paying position with the NFL, of which there is certainly no guarantee after his 2007 suspension without pay. Falcons owner Arthur Blank sued Vick for $20 million of his $37 million signing bonus, stating that at the time of the agreement Vick knew he was involved in illegal activity that was a breach of his contract. Vick was ordered to repay $19.97 million to the Falcons, one of the many debts he now owes various people and organizations. If he is welcomed back into the NFL, it's almost certain that Vick will not be going back as a Falcon.

I sincerely hope that Michael Vick is not allowed to play professional football ever again. I think he's already proven himself to be unworthy of the role-model status that comes with athletic stardom, as well as undeserving of fame and fortune. Not to mention the fact that there are dogs who will never fully recover from the horror they experienced at Vick's hand and thus can never be adopted into loving homes. Courts ruled that some of the Vick dogs never be available for adoption, so they will spend their lives in animal rescues (including my fav, Best Friends!) receiving one-on-one help with their emotional and behavioral problems.

After all his apologies, Vick was remanded to jail when he was out on bail awaiting trial in September 2007 for failing a random drug test: there was marijuana in his system. This does not speak to someone who is sorry for their crimes. Rather, is tells me that Michael Vick can say what he thinks people want to hear, what will get him out of trouble. Then it's right back to doing whatever he wants because he's a narcissistic asshole. I'm not saying that I think smoking pot makes you a bad person. I just think that when you're in such deep trouble you should be doing everything in your power to keep yourself afloat. The series of selfish decisions made by Vick makes me doubt his claims of reform and repentance.

I feel no sympathy for this man. I have lots of sympathy for his dogs, though, and lots of admiration for the amazing people who are helping them every day.

There was a great article published in the December 2008 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine called What happened to Michael Vick's dogs... by Jim Gorant. In it we learn that:

"In the end, 47 of the 51 Vick dogs were saved. (Two died while in the shelters; one was destroyed because it was too violent; and another was euthanized for medical reasons.) Twenty-two dogs went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where McMillan and his staff chart their emotional state daily; almost all show steady improvement in categories such as calmness, sociability and happiness. McMillan believes 17 of the dogs will eventually be adopted, and applicants are being screened for the first of those. The other 25 have been spread around the country; the biggest group, 10, went to California with BAD RAP. Fourteen of the 25 have been placed in permanent homes, and the rest are in foster care."

Best Friends publishes frequent updates about their 22 "Vicktory" Dogs and BAD RAP has a Vick Dog Blog with updates on the dogs who ended up with them. These dogs are all making remarkable progress toward recovery.

Let's hope Michael Vick isn't offered the financial resources and opportunity to set up another dogfighting ring and destroy more innocent lives. The next round might not be so lucky.