Although he is a gambler by nature on and off the field, and he would probably lean towards gambling with his date in court, Vick needs to get a plea agreement. With evidence quickly piling up against him it appears as if he is guilty.
Federal prosecutors said that a superceeding indictment may be on the way. Vick's friends who have already negoitiated plea deals will bring stong evidence against Vick. If Vick decides to go to trial they have agreed to testify and describe at least 8 brutal and horrifying executions of dogs.
The effect of these testomonies would he incredibly damaging to Vick's case. The pictures and vivid descriptions of the executions would leave a big impression of the jury. Worst of all Vick may be forced to testify. "If he does testify, he faces a nightmare of cross-examination from federal prosecutors armed with at least seven cooperating witnesses and six years of e-mails, documents and financial records from Bad Newz Kennels."
Considering all the evidence mounted against him and knowing the nations feelings towards dogs, there is still a chance that Vick will take this to court. This country is full of animal lovers and Vick has already been convicted in the court of public opinion. The images and horrific stories of dogfighting and executions would certainly weigh heavily in the jury's mind, and probably lead to the conviction of the superstar quarterback.
While negotiating with federal prosecutors, Vick is also trying to talk to the NFL. Vick does not want to lose his chance to return to the game of football by admitting guilt in court. Of course the NFL should probably not be his main concern right now, however he is still worried about his return assuming he is not in jail for a long time......
A settlement with the NFL seems unlikely as commissioner Roger Goodell wants to see how the legal proceedings pan out before he makes up his mind on how to handle the situation.
Possibly more damaging to Vick's return status is the fact that he was face to face with Goodell when the indictment came out and said that he had nothing to do with this. By admitting guilt he will be admitting that he lied to the face of the commissioner. Vick said he did not bet on the fights. The last time a star athlete lied to the commissioner of his sport about betting was Pete Rose. He was found guily and in turn banned for life. Although his gambling was more serious only in the sese that he bet on his own sport while he was managing a team, lying to Goodell about gambling might do more damage to Vick's career than anything he did to the dogs.
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