Vick has paid back an astonishing $15 million of the $17.8 million he owed creditors before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its expected that with the sale of a final property and what he will pay this month that he will be clear of the entire debt. Its interesting to note that he could have taken the easy way out and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and had most of his debts forgiven but instead chose to pay back the people he had borrowed money from. The scarier part is that to pay back that amount, Vick had to make almost $49 million to do so because of taxes and legal fees associated with his previous debts. He has been living on a $300,000 budget while making that money. I for one am glad he was able to play long enough to get things right.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/12041876/new-york-jets-quarte...
Comments
I'm glad to see that he's doing well and, by all accounts, has changed for the better. It's nice to see him take the blue collar approach and working to pay everything back.
I always liked Michael Vick.
Me too !
But a person can never change, and he deserves to be rotting in a prison cell for the rest of his life..... /sarcasm
In the spirit of Christmas, have a leg.
The Battle of the Lamp will ALWAYS get a *leg* from me!!
Yep. Really sick of hearing that from people
I had a friend that worked for the Eagles while he was there and said that Vick was one of the nicest and most down to earth guys on the roster.
I gave a turkey leg to a guy who has a friend who worked for the Eagles while Michael Vick was there who said he was one of the nicest guys on the roster.
i gave a turkey leg to a guy that gave a turkey leg to a guy with a friend who worked for the Eagles while Michael Vick was there who said he was one of the nicest guys on the roster.
I, too, click buttons on the Internet.
... something something Ford.
I think I can make the sacrifice of living on a 300,000 budget
It's probably harder when surrounded by millionaires.
And knowing that the vast majority of your take-home pay is pretty much allocated to paying off debts.
That's gotta be psychologically taxing no matter how much money you make.
ehhh idk the rest of america seems to be making it okay for the most part.....
I'm currently paying back one of my loans as well as one of my wife's, and all on a TA stipend. We're making it, but we'll never call it "okay."
they don't work in professions where huge, incredibly fast men try with every fiber of their being to slam the SH** out of you on every play
one where career longevity is just a few years... and MV from a net worth perspective... needs another contract
not sure he'll get it
so 300k in that scenario ain't much
Hold on...let me get my violin out
I'd like to see what he actually has to live on.
He's got some pretty high management expenses just because he grosses so much money. Lots of other expenses just because of who he is. How many windows a year does he replace from PETA people, or does he pay full time security?
I wonder how many thousands of dollars he has to pay someone to do his tax filings. etc, etc, etc
He's not rich, he just has a high gross income. While he's not starving, he's not living in a lower class neighborhood either.
And all of his homeboy's back in Newport News, VA asking for money all the time......
Not to mention the bail for Marcus. That probably is set up on a monthly installment plan, though.
Even living off of $300K compared to not having 49 million is tough to swallow. But I have forgiven Mike for what he did and he is making an honest man at what he does and how he acts. I hope some day he can set foot back on campus an be showcased during a game. It was unbelievable watching him play in orange and maroon!
All of these are good points. As VT fans, I'm sure we were all really hurt when his transgressions became public.
Now, however many years later, he's tried to do the right thing and he's learned his lessons the hard way. Some people will never forgive him for dogfighting, and that's their prerogative, but hopefully anyone out there who believes in second chances will be able to judge what he's done since then in a fair way, and I hope that leads them to agree with me (and most of us, I'd guess) in saying that he's literally and figuratively paid his debts.
The way I look at it is this - Remove my allegiance to VT. Then look at Michael's actions after being convicted. He was a man about it. No whining. No complaint - not one - about the punishment being too harsh. He did his time at Leavenworth. He came out, apologized, put action behind his words, and worked his butt off to get back in the NFL. He's paid back his financial debt, he's paid back his legal debt, and he's paid back his emotional debt. He's never complained one single time about any of it.
So, with no emotion based on Hokie allegiance, those factors above allow me to forgive him.
Here, here
Synchronicity.
I literally was wondering just last night whether MV7 was paying back his debts, or had filed Ch 7. I couldn't remember.
This is what a responsible adult does. Admits fault when at fault. Pays the price in accordance with the laws. And doesn't shirk the responsibility to pay back debts.
I'm as thrilled with this bit of news as I am with the recruiting gets. I love redemption stories.
Big kudos to Mike. Kudos to his mom for raising him right. Kudos to Frank Beamer for running the kind of organization to encourages those kind of virtues.
Frank should be fired for not hooking him up with the right bag man. Frank doesn't care about his players.
False. I let him use all of my Kroger reward points.
You are so sneaky that way.
I have it on questionable authority that our resident bagman now packages a get out of jail free card from his monopoly set and Jimmy Turks' business card with his private cell number written in on the back, along with the normal collection of coupons and a sample/travel size toiletry item.
Let me first say that Mike Vick is awesome. What he did on the field was amazing. When it came out what he did I scorned him as hard as anyone (that was seriously effed up) but I've since come back around to respect the man. He owned up to it and has paid his debts (literally and figuratively).
That being said....I'd be ok living off $300,000 a year.......
I am probably in the minority but I think he should still be in jail. Only reason he is out is that he in an entertainer who can make people money. He is in the same class as Ray Stab-Stab Lewis, what they did is despicable and actually death penalty worthy imho. At least Vick has tried to make up for it and pay off his debts, every other penny he makes should be going to animal shelters.
*Jumps off soap box
Just curious but how long do you think he should spend in prison for dog fighting/cruelty to animals? I by no means condone what he did but he did do his time for it. He didn't choose his sentence the judge did. He served it and stayed in good enough shape to get back into the NFL. When people talk about how he should still be in prison and all that I just think of this.
I honestly think he should have never gotten out. He murdered a bunch of animals for entertainment, it was not even that he ordered someone else to do it he physically did it himself. I can never forgive something like that no matter what he did for our program. Full disclosure I am carnivore, meat is in every one of my meals so I am ok with animals being raised and killed for food, just not for entertainment and discardment (not a real word I am guessing) afterwards...
I'll be one to back you up on this. While reading the article and the comments I was thinking along the lines of: Well, I'm glad he paid back his debts and he didn't take the easy way out. That shows some integrity. Sounds like he's turning his life around and being a less shitty person. That's an improvement. I'm still not going to be a fan of the guy because of what he did to those dogs. For full integrity and debt to society repayment, he oughta make donations to animal shelters and always be volunteering. I believe in second chances and he's made the best of his, but I'm still not going to sing his praises or be fan.
If I made the laws, animal cruelty to the extent he was guilty of, would carry a life sentence. But I don't make the laws or enforce them, so it's not a life sentence. He's out of jail and he's making the best of it. Good for him, but I'm still don't really like the dude.
...That's exactly what he's doing. What more do you want of him? It's already estimated by the humane society that he's saved the live's of more dogs than he's killed.
I was not aware that he is doing that. Good. Equilibrium is being restored.
Yeah, I read an article a long while back saying that's what he was doing. It was back when I bought the occasional paper magazine, so this is not breaking news.
Article was about finding homes for the dogs found in his fighting rings and stated he had saved more dogs than he killed/psychologically destroyed, and was continuing to give and volunteer and give talks about animal cruelty IIRC. He's continued that work through the present too.
He's done a lot to make up for being a complete douche nozzle for several years.
Then you must not like Michael Brewer who said one of the reasons he chose VT is because he is a hunter. He has pictures of himself with dead deer.
What about Roy Jones? He mocked cock fighting in the ring. and admitted to being involved in it.
I think most people are so "Offended" by Vick because he fought an animal we consider to be pets. No one thinks of Deer or chickens as pets, thus less outrage.
I like Michael Brewer. His hobby is hunting. I'm not anti-hunting. Depends on what he did with his kill.
I know people who hunt merely for trophy bucks, mount the head, and discard the rest. I believe that's a shitty way to be.
I know people who hunt for big bucks and they eat very well for weeks afterwards, and feed their neighbors and friends. Those people do it the right way, in my opinion. That animal died to provide nourishment to another animal higher on the food chain, not for some guy to decorate his rumpus room.
Even so, both of those purposes of hunting are better than torturing and killing animals. Dogs, cats, deer, chickens, squirrels, any animal. Humans just seem to process the finality of death better than prolonged torture, I suppose.
In some cases, hunting for the sole purpose of killing the animal is necessary though. For instance, Georgia is full of wild hogs that do serious damage to property and also compete with other hunting wildlife, such as deer, for food. While I still think you should eat what you kill, killing them is a necessity at times. There are people that will mortally wound them and leave them for other animals in nature to feed on. I've known people that go out to South Dakota for a week, sit out in a field and just pop Prairie Dogs all day. Why? Because the holes they dig are dangerous to the cattle out there. A cow steps in a hole, breaks its ankle, and then has to be put down. So farmers pay people to come out and shoot 100+ prairie dogs a day. Sometimes an animal has to die so that another animal can provide nourishment for people. That doesn't mean they are doing it wrong though.
There are exceptions to everything. The wild hog example was in my mind as I typed my previous post. Leg for you.
I'm going to leg you even though I disagree with some of your post, but respect your stance and your valuation of all life. I have no problem with hunters. I got hunters in my family, hell, my Air Force brother in law is going to teach me how to shoot with a rifle next time I visit him.
Question though: Do you think all this hatred for Vick would exist if he had fought Rats? I don't think so.
Of course not. There is an inherent hierarchy of the value each culture places on animal species. Rats are low on that list for our western culture. Dogs and cats are high up there because we've domesticated them and it's been deemed that we shouldn't eat them. Now, I know a girl who breeds rats as pets. She probably has a different opinion regarding rats' placement in that hierarchy.
I still lean more towards Jander's stance than the "Mike Vick is the greatest" crowd. But I'll restate my original conclusion: I'm glad he's doing the right thing through and through. I'm still not a Michael Vick fan.
To start with, this statement right here is factually and legally incorrect.
Vick's charges were operating it and financing it. He admitted to participating and that his colleagues killed some dogs that did not perform well. He admitted to being involved in the killing of some of the dogs. Regardless, the crimes he committed do not legally warrant a life sentence. Class-6 felonies have a maximum 5 year sentence. So with the 2 he was charged with, he could have only been given a maximum 10 years. Still, by admitting their crimes and entering a guilty plea, all criminals will be given a lighter sentence. For MV7, that was having one of those felony charges removed. I'm a dog lover, but legally, animals are property. They have no rights as living creatures and are treated as property when involved in any legal proceeding. Crimes that carry a maximum life sentence include murder, burglary with a deadly weapon, and murder by mob as well as a few others. Those crimes were not committed here.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about hunting for sport where animals get put up as trophies? Fishing for sport where the animal doesn't even get eaten? Would you lump the people who do that in the same category?
It's interesting to me when there are people out there who have forgiven murderers who killed their family (not saying they're friends or anything) members, but people who didn't own the dogs in the slightest, can say they will never forgive someone for doing something like that. I'm not condoning him for what he did, and I'm not saying I don't hate what he did. I WOULD lump the people who kill animals for sport into the same category.
The other thing, from another post earlier:
If he hadn't been Michael Vick, he wouldn't have been the poster child against dogfighting that he was made to be. This stuff happens ALL THE TIME, but you don't see someone caught in it paraded around like "OMG, this person killed dogs for entertainment." when it isn't someone famous. He served the maximum time, with good behavior, that was afforded to the crime according to law. He didn't just "get out" or "get off easy" because he was famous and could play football. The feds "made an example" of him because he was famous.
Actually I do hunt and fish and use everything that I can and dispose of the remains in an approved manner. I don't have any "trophies" outside of pictures. I believe that trophy hunters belong in the same category, those a-holes that fly to Africa to get the "big 5" should be left out on the safari trail without guides and weapons imho...
I'm not sure he got the maximum sentence, but I know his sentence was very harsh in comparison to other dog fighting cases. If I recall correctly, I think this was the first dog fighting case taken on by the federal gov't?
EDIT: Above poster mentioned that he did not get the maximum possible sentence.
Ok, I'll bite
I can't equate dogfighting to the killing of humans. Yes, they are both bad and you deserve to be harshly punished for both, but I can't sit here and say that the life of a human is worth the exact same as the life of a dog. To say both Vick and a murderer should be executed is mind bottling.
True alum, dogs >>> most people, Vick's sentence should have been harsher ;)
Please tell me how this mind bottling works, we could make a mint on it.
I imagine it would look something like this:
Vick actually served more time in prison because of his high profile than the majority of people convicted for the same crimes. I remember reading an article when he was sentenced that said that the average jail sentence for his crimes was eight months and normally served in a low security prison with access to all sorts of benefits, whereas Vick was sentenced to twenty three months and served twenty one months of it in one of our countries most maximum security facilities. They actually used his celebrity against him to make an example out of him.
I dont condone what he did but considering drug dealers regularly get shorter sentences for dealing heroin and cocaine than Vick received I consider his time served more than enough. He of all people involved in something like he was will be the one forced to live with it for the rest of his life because of his celebrity, whereas most of the people involved, even in Bad Newz Kennels, are able to fade back into their normal lives without constant reminders of what they did. Vick will never have that option.
I love that Vick has paid off his debts....I have to point out however, that Ron Mexico has been running up quite a tab on his credit cards.
Good for you, Mike!
I'll throw my $0.02 in here (and worth every penny). I believe I have a unique perspective on this issue. My wife and I are avid dog RESCUERS. We volunteer for a local animal rescue organization that saves dogs from high-kill areas of the southern US (from DC down to GA, and even Puerto Rico and Turks and Caicos...seriously!). We have personally fostered over 300 dogs in the last 3 years. In addition, we have probably donated funds to save hundreds more. No idea how to equate the volunteer hours we spend into saved lives,, but I would assume it's hundreds more. Our organization even help find homes for some of "Vick's Dogs" (as they were known in the rescue). We even fostered one for a few days, and happily placed it to a good home. Yeah, we kinda love dogs (and all animals for that matter).
Yes, that's a long qualifier, but I somehow felt it was necessary. I tried to not believe it when I heard he "could" be involved, but I burned my MV7 jersey when he was convicted.
I've watched his situation and can say I'm very proud of him. He admitted (albeit a little late) to a mistake, has not taken the easy way out and has (and is) making good on his debts (financial and to society). He was convicted, and served his time. He was fired, and earned his way back to his job. You are all entitled to your opinions on the matter, and I will not condemn you for them. I try to be a compassionate person and believe in rehabilitation and second chances (lord knows, I've needed a few in my days)...so I have chosen to forgive him.
Now for my soap box, if you feel strongly enough to care (or donate), please feel free to email me and I'll get you the information for the animal rescue. We can use all the volunteers and funds possible, as there are unspeakable things happening to dogs everyday that we are trying to stop.
He's done more for animal rights than the activists will ever do in their entire existence (IMOP).
This is going to be the minority opinion here, but I think Michael shouldn't have paid off those debts. Most of the time, the debts are due to lenders that were taking advantage of a man who came into money and didn't really understand how to take care of it. It's not all Michael's fault. When you file for bankruptcy, the law gives you chance to get out of it. If I was his legal or financial advisor, I would say TAKE ADVANTAGE of the LAW. The rules are there for a reason. No need to supersede them.