NFL to Vick: Don’t Report To Training

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The New York Sun

Michael Vick was ordered by commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday to stay away from the Atlanta Falcons’ training camp until the league reviews the dogfighting charges against him.

“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.

Goodell told Vick the league would complete its review as quickly as possible and that he expected full cooperation. The review is expected to involve conversations with federal law enforcement officials so the NFL can determine the strength of the case against Vick.

The Falcons open camp on Thursday, the same day Vick is scheduled to be arraigned in Richmond, Va., on charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation.

The team declined comment other than to say a news conference was scheduled today at owner Arthur Blank’s office in Atlanta.

Vick, the no. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, last season became the first quarterback ever to rush for more than 1,000 yards.


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