Michael Vick was ordered by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday to stay away from the Atlanta Falcons' training camp until the league reviews the dogfighting charges against him.The NFL is trying to balance the fact that Vick is still presumed innocent in the criminal justice system with the appearance of impropriety and misconduct under the league's personal conduct policy.
"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the Personal Conduct Policy," Goodell said in a letter to the quarterback.
The NFL said Vick would still get his preseason pay and Goodell told the Falcons to withhold any disciplinary action of their own until the league's review was completed.
They can rationalize this simply by noting that the bad press Vick has rightfully received as a result of being indicted on multiple counts of animal abuse and gambling has given the league a black eye.
Don't expect the player's union to contest this as they are the weakest player's union among the major sports.
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