Michael Vick: The Cruelty Criminal Born on June 26, 1980

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  Born on June 26, 1980
  
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  Grown up in a family style that praised dog fighting and encourage it
  
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  Born in a city best known for drug dealing, gang members, and cruelty to cats
  
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  Attended Warwick High School
  
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    Became aggressive and a disciplinary problem for his teachers
    
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  Dropped all sports besides football
  
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    Modeled himself as someone who could beat you with one arm
    
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  Attended University of Missouri in 1970 and became their well-known running back
  
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  Soon after, he attended Virginia Tech to continue football
  
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  Drafted first to the Atlanta Falcons
  
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  Now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles as their quarterback
  

Michael Vick was convicted in 2006 for animal cruelty, lying about it, and holding a kennel named Bad Newz Kennels on his property that wagered matches to approving the disposal of dogs that lost since 2001. While serving the search warrant, police discovered evidence of an alleged dog fighting operation, including rape stands, pry bars, treadmills modified for dog training, and a blood-stained carpet. Animal-control officers also removed 66 dogs from the property, 55 of which were pit bulls. Vick helped to kill six to eight dogs on his Virginia property and was said to have provided money for bets on fights but never sharing the winnings. He was sentenced to twenty-three months in federal prison and suspended without pay by the NFL and lost all lucrative endorsement deals. Vick was released from federal prison on May 20, 2009, with only serving nineteen months, and soon after, got a job as a construction worker. After his release, he served three months of supervised probation.

During trial, Vick had made an apology in front of the judge, his family, and the jury. Although the Judge had not accepted his apology, he stated that Vick needed to apologize too all of the sports fans who have looked up to him. Before going to court, Vick was also accused of failing a drug test when marijuana was tested in his system and his finances went under scrutiny when banks sued him for four million dollars. Although he did not serve time for either one of these, he was still required to make a public apology.

Quotes:

“I would fly home to Virginia every Tuesday on my off-day, just to check up on my dogs and fight the dogs." –Michael Vick

“You got the family dog and the white picket fence, and you just think that's all there is. Some of us had to grow up in poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods, and we just had to adapt to our environment. I know that it's wrong. But people act like it's some crazy thing they never heard of. They don't know." –Michael Vick

Nicknames:

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  Ookie
  
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  Ron Mexico
  

The best Sociological Theory of Deviance that describes Michael Vick is the Differential-Association Theory. Michael Vick had grown up in a society that fed off of abuse. He lived in a community that accepted animal cruelty and he knew nothing different than what he was taught. His childhood was harsh on him because at a young age, his father had just up and left and his mom was left to raise Vick and his siblings while she battled being a single mother with two jobs. Despite his mom leaving Vick to care for his siblings, he had gone out numerous times to hang out with gangs. For pleasure, they had started the dog fighting and Vick was taught that it was humane so he knew nothing else.