Michael Vick surrendered to U.S. marshals Monday and will remain in jail until his sentencing on a dogfighting charge in three weeks.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 but turned himself in because he anticipates a prison term on the federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, according to a court document. Vick could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
"From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance," Billy Martin, one of Vick's lawyers, said in a statement. "Michael wants to again apologize to everyone who has been hurt in this matter, and he thanks all of the people who have offered him and his family prayers and support during this time."
Vick is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw until his sentencing, U.S. marshals told The Associated Press. The mixed-gender facility houses about 450 inmates...
Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions...are you kidding? He lied and loudly proclaimed his innocence until his cohorts turned on him. Now we're supposed to accept him as an upstanding citizen? Please. I maintain he should be dropped into a pit of vipers. See if they give him any more sympathy than he gave his loser dogs. Asswipe.
Barry Bonds is under indictment. Also from SI:
The home run king wasn't home free after all.
Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice Thursday and could go to prison instead of the Hall of Fame for telling a federal grand jury he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.
The indictment came just three months after the San Francisco Giants star broke Hank Aaron's career home run record, and it culminated a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.
But for all the speculation and accusations that clouded his pursuit of Aaron, Bonds was never identified by Major League Baseball as testing positive for steroids, and personal trainer Greg Anderson spent most of the last year in jail for refusing to testify against his longtime friend.
Then came the indictment -- four counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice; a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison -- and Bonds' lawyers seemed caught off guard.
The 10-page report mainly consists of excerpts from Bonds' December 2003 testimony before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO. It cites 19 occasions in which Bonds allegedly lied under oath...
Seriously, didn't everyone with two brain cells see this one coming? Why do *stars* continue to believe they are above the law? Ok, perhaps because we put them on pedestals and are willing to pay crazy amounts of money to watch grown men PLAY GAMES. It won't end until the fans insist it ends. Need proof?
Mike Tyson was sentenced Monday to 24 hours in jail and three years' probation for drug possession and driving under the influence.
The former heavyweight champion had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.
Tyson had faced a possible maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison.
The charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Scottsdale last December.
Police pulled Tyson over after the boxer had spent the evening at Scottsdale's Pussycat Lounge. An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his black BMW, and that his speech was slurred.
Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson's pocket and in his car.
Tyson told officers later that he used cocaine "whenever I can get my hands on it," and that he preferred to smoke it in Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out, according to court documents. He also told police that he used marijuana that day and was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, the documents state.
Since his arrest, Tyson checked himself into an inpatient treatment program for what his lawyer called "various addictions."..
What kind of sentence do you suppose YOU would get for a similar offense? How is this guy getting away with this? Isn't he a known quantity by now? Sheesh. And let's not forget the twenty Ole Miss players mentioned earlier. May as well start 'em early, right?
1 comment:
I just read an editorial in the NY Times by William C. Rhoden, in which he says, "I don’t have an issue with the zeal and intensity of an investigation. Heaven knows that reporters go to great lengths to get a story.
My issue has to do with an apparent double standard that has focused, thus far, on black athletes. I’m waiting for the dragnet to pull in a more diverse bounty of high-profile athletes..."
Now I have to say that it never actually occurred to me that all of these criminals are black. However, let's step back a bit and see who else has been slapped down for breaking the rules.
Let's look at horse racing. Trainer Patrick Biancone was fined in 1997, suspended in 2000, and suspended again in 2007, for using illegal substances in his horses. Naturally, he loudly declared his innocence. Jockey Jose Santos was suspended for 'careless riding' in 2003. Same for Angel Cordero Jr. in 1990. There are lots of people getting suspended in horse racing.
How about that bastion of whiteness, the NHL? Jesse Boulerice was suspended 25 games by the NHL on Oct. 12 for striking Vancouver's Ryan Kesler across the face with his stick, the longest single-season ban in league history. In 1998, Boulerice was suspended for one year by the Ontario Hockey League for violent stick-swinging. He went to the AHL the following season and was ruled ineligible until mid-November. There are plenty of examples of fines and suspensions in the NHL.
I won't even get started with competitive swimming and cycling.
So what's the big difference? Race? Perhaps, but how about salary? Hockey players don't command the millions that baseball, basketball and football players get regularly. Mike Tyson made millions during his heydey and pissed it all away. Where were his friends when he needed them for good advice? Marion Jones may not be as wealthy as a Vicks or Bonds, but she was every bit as strident in declaring her innocence.
Big salaries go with some sports more than others. Big salaries also contribute to big egos, big appetites, and lots of media attention. Black or white, if you are in the spotlight and you are picking your nose, someone is going to catch you doing it. Lindsay Lohen, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton...ring any bells? And all as white as the driven over snow.
So before we go screaming race, let's take a look at what sells magazines and newspapers. Money talks.
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