Sports For Chicks: Don't throw Vick back to the pound just yet

Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles is in the headlines again.  Depending on which reports you read, he is either in real trouble and headed back to the dog house, or quite honestly, he is in no trouble at all. I've read three articles about an incident that took place June 25th at a club in Virginia Beach where Vick was celebrating his 30th birthday, none of which are conclusive.

Turns out, shortly after Vick and his group had left the club, there was a shooting in the parking lot, injuring a man named Quanis Phillips.  Who is that?  Mr. Phillips is a co-defendant of Michael Vick in the dog fighting disaster that took place a few years ago.  Different articles are posting different twists.  Both say the shooting was the result of a minor altercation that took place during the birthday bash.

So what is the big deal?  Michael Vick is on probation.  As part of the conditions for probation, he is not to have contact with any other felons (Phillips), and further, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall gave Vick a very tight margin of error when he let him back in the game.  Any association with former dog fighting pals is a sure ticket off the field.

So...back to the reports of the incident.  Quantis Phillips was indeed in the VIP section of the club where Vick's party took place.  Where reports differ, is one suggests Phillips was part of the party, the other suggests he was asked to leave as soon as he crashed the party.  This is a very big difference.

The most important piece of evidence here has got to be the list of invitees.  If Phillips is on the list, that it is a real shame.  If he is not on the list, this becomes a non-incident for Vick, or even a good thing since Vick's people would have asked Phillips to leave, and when he didn't, Vick left instead.

I, personally, was disgusted by Vick's behavior years ago and thought he got a just sentence as a consequence of the animal abuse he played such a huge part in.  It is also my opinion he paid his dues in jail, he is now a spokesperson for PETA trying to educate others on the errors of his ways, and he has humbly accepted whatever the NFL has offered him, without complaint.  I have an easier time supporting someone rehabilitated like Vick, then I do someone like Ben Roethlisberger who is STILL behaving criminally and getting away with it while raking in the big bucks.

Anyway, I hope Vick truly was trying to separate himself from Phillips at his party.  I hope Phillips was not an invited guest.  If he was, however, only Vick is to blame.  After all he has been through, lets hope he knew better.