Be forewarned: This is going to be a lot of speculation, but I think it points to something fairly obvious.
The big news today has been the Outside The Lines report on ESPN featuring an interview with a dogfighting insider who claims that Mike Vick is a "heavyweight" in the dogfighting scene. The two major claims made by the informant are that 1.) He personally fought against a Mike Vick trained pitbull in 2000 and 2.) He had personally seen Mike Vick at a dog fight as recently as last year.
There is something else that has stuck out in the article to me. Now, this speculation factors in that the informant is entirely truthful, so take that as you will. So here are a few excerpts from the article, my emphasis added: See if you know where I am headed:
"Our confidential source said he's been involved in dog fighting for more than 30 years, He has trained and fought -- by his estimation -- about 2,000 pit bulls and was poised to tell "Outside the Lines" about the time in 2000 when his dog squared off against a dog owned by someone he referred to as one of the "heavyweights" of the dog fighting world: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Mike Vick."
"Then he started, you know, waving money," the source said. "He was betting with everybody … He said he got $5,000. He said he's betting on his animal."
"American pit bull terriers account for 99 percent of the species involved in dog fighting, and a pit bull puppy can cost as much as $5,000. An average dog fight carries a $10,000 purse."
Now, if that does not connect the dots for you as to where I am headed I understand: I didn't see it at first either. Things will become a lot more clearer if you go to Vick's player card at ESPN, where you will see...
"Drafted: Year: 2001 Round:1 Pick:1, Falcons"
You see now? If the informant is to be believed, Vick was fighting pit bulls while still in college. Pit bulls that would have 1.) been years in breeding and training and 2.) according to the report would have cost thousands of dollars to buy. And on top of that, Vick is accused not only of having a dog in this 2000 fight, but also at least $5,000 in betting money to throw around. As a recent college grad let me state the obvious: college juniors do not have 5 large to drop on a puppy, nor do they have another 5 large to bet on said puppy when it grows up. So what am I saying? Well, I think that if people are so game to go after Reggie Bush and his family to investigate whether they were accepting funds while Bush was in college, maybe they should also examine whether or not Vick was getting similar benefits. To be honest, if the allegations made in the article are true, Frank Beamer and company should be held responsible for a lack of administrative control if one of their players was getting thousands of dollars in benefits and committing felonies in his spare time.
