By: Bob Raissman
Dog days looming for NFL, networks
Anyone at the National Football League, or in the offices of their TV partners, not familiar with the kind of heat the Humane Society of the United States is capable of bringing should flash back to December 2004.
That’s when Wayne Pacelle, president/CEO of the Humane Society, targeted HBO Sports, calling for the network to fire Roy Jones Jr., an analyst on the network’s “World Championship Boxing” telecasts, if he did not give up his heavy involvement in cockfighting.
HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg, an animal-rights supporter, was confronted with a troubling, complicated dilemma. HBO Sports was not responsible for Jones being a participant in a barbaric practice - at the time illegal in 48 states - and Jones was not breaking the law.
Normally, broadcasters are under an inordinate amount of scrutiny from viewers. Things get much hotter - like in the Jones cockfighting situation - when activist groups, relentless in their pursuit of a cause, get involved.
Just ask Don Imus.
Jones was terminated, a year after the Humane Society contacted HBO Sports, for what the network said was an unrelated matter.
This brings us to Michael Vick, who was indicted on dogfighting charges on Tuesday. It would appear the quarterback is just a problem for Falcons owner Arthur Blank and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Here’s who is also in a fix: the NFL’s national broadcast partners - Fox, ESPN, CBS, NBC and the NFL Network.
For if any network suit believes activist groups that want Vick suspended are not going to put major pressure on them too, they are delusional. Vick is not an employee of the networks. Yet these outlets televise NFL games, including ones Vick plays in. This gives them target status. On its Web site, the Humane Society is now urging its members (of which there are more than eight million) to implore the NFL to act and suspend Vick.
If Goodell does not suspend Vick, it would not be surprising - as it did with HBO and Jones - if the Humane Society, and other concerned citizens, put pressure on the NFL’s high-profile TV partners.
It would be hard for animal-rights activists to affect broadcast coverage. Fox, NBC, ESPN, CBS and NFLN have contracts with the NFL that must be honored. The network suits can stand - or hide - behind them. No one should expect them to refuse to televise a Falcons game.
There is another way to negatively affect the NFL’s TV partners and force them to pressure Goodell into suspending Vick: activists could certainly make life uncomfortable for the broadcasters, and their advertisers, by urging a boycott of products sold by any company advertising on an NFL game.
This would immediately generate more terrible publicity for the NFL. It could also have severe financial implications. If NFL advertisers start believing the public perceives them as being in bed with a league that allows one of its marquee stars, involved in dogfighting, to keep playing without sanction, these major corporations could start pulling their money out of NFL telecasts.
Another issue for these networks is how they handle the Vick story. Traditionally, NFL TV rights-holders have been very cautious covering players’ off-field behavior when it had little or no impact on the game they are broadcasting.
These Vick allegations rise to a level far above the deviant behavior routinely exhibited by some NFL players. The warped mentality described in the Vick indictment is off the charts. This is not your standard drug/alcohol/nightclub fracas kind of thing. Those stories usually have a short shelf life. The Vick story won’t. It’s about a player who may have a dark side beyond description and comprehension.
The pregame and halftime shows will be hard-pressed to give the story short shrift. But never underestimate the ability of these programs to sweep negative NFL stories under the artificial carpet. Last season, CBS’ “The NFL Today” cast interviewed Shawne Merriman and did not ask him one question about being busted by the NFL for steroids.
ESPN will be first up. It is scheduled to telecast the Aug.27 preseason game between the Falcons and Bengals. Already ESPN, through “Outside the Lines” and “SportsCenter,” has showed a willingness to tackle the Vick story. Will the clowns on “Gameday” and “Monday Night Football” rise to the same level?
The Falcons will make three national regular-season TV appearances in 2007. Even if they made none, thanks to Vick, they will be a national story.
And perhaps a costly one - for the NFL and its TV partners.
While the Atlanta Falcons and Nike pleaded for patience yesterday and cautiously stood by embattled Michael Vick, pressure continued to mount on the NFL to take immediate action against the star quarterback who has been indicted on dogfighting charges.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) said it was “disturbed by the message the NFL and the Falcons are sending” by not suspending Vick. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) planned a protest outside the NFL offices for this morning. And New Jersey state assemblyman Neil Cohen announced that he is drafting legislation that would elevate animal fighting in his state to a second-degree crime, punishable by up to 10years in prison.
“The NFL needs to send a strong message right now by sacking Vick,” PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich said in a statement. “Anyone who could force a dog to fight to the death should be kept away from all vulnerable forms of life, like children and animals.”
The NFL, according to sources, is waiting for the legal process to play out before deciding on a punishment for Vick, even though commissioner Roger Goodell’s new personal conduct policy allows for suspensions in the absence of convictions. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has received close to 1,000 calls and e-mails about Vick in the past two days.
This morning at 10 a.m., the NFL will hear from PETA, whose members are expected to converge on league headquarters on Park Ave., carrying signs that read “NFL: Sack Vick” and “Tackle Cruelty.” PETA, along with The Rev. Al Sharpton and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, had earlier sent a letter to the league, the Falcons and Vick’s sponsors condemning dogfighting. PETA has similar protests planned for Atlanta and Richmond.
McCarthy said the NFL is aware of PETA’s planned protests, but did not have any comment.
“By allowing Michael Vick to continue as part of the NFL, they are clearly ignoring the cries of the American public and are seemingly condoning these barbaric acts,” said Wayne Pacelle, the president of HSUS. “While these disturbing dogfighting charges against Vick are being prosecuted, the NFL and the Falcons need to disassociate themselves from this cruel and unacceptable conduct.
“Vick will have the opportunity to defend himself in court. By not suspending him, the NFL is sending the wrong message to the American public.”
The Falcons and Nike sent similar messages yesterday when both refused to cut ties with or punish Vick. While the Falcons said they are “exploring our options,” the shoe company put at least a little distance between itself and its indicted client.
Nike issued a statement saying the company has “not terminated our relationship” with Vick, but it suspended the release of Vick’s fifth signature shoe, the Air Zoom Vick V, which was due to be released on Aug.23.
“Nike is concerned by the serious and highly disturbing allegations made against Michael Vick, and we consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and abhorrent,” the company’s statement read. “We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen.”
HSUS blasted Nike for its stance, however, and for continuing to market a $16 “Vick Hero” T-shirt to young boys.
“Michael Vick is no hero,” Pacelle said. “A string of dead, wounded and suffering animals has been left along the Eastern Seaboard as a consequence of this dogfighting ring. This is no moment to tell America’s youth to look up to such a man.”
Later in the day, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who gave Vick a 10-year, $130 million contract three years ago, issued his plea for due process. Blank, who said in his statement that he was “saddened and distressed” about the Vick mess, addressed Falcons fans, whom he acknowledged are “anxious to hear more from us.”
“This is an emotionally charged and complicated matter,” Blank said. “There are a wide range of interests and legal issues that need to be carefully considered as we move ahead, including our need to respect the due process that Michael is entitled to. Given the differing perspectives and strong feelings around this issue, we probably won’t make everyone happy, but we are committed to doing the right thing.”
Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on two counts of operating an illegal dogfighting ring out of his home in Smithfield, Va. He faces the possibility of six years in prison and $350,000 in fines if convicted on both charges. He is due in federal court in Richmond, Va., on Thursday, the day of the Falcons’ first training-camp practice.
Included in the indictment is an allegation that Vick and his three associates traveled with their dogs to illegal fights in four other states, including New Jersey. That, in part, spurred Assemblymen Cohen to attempt to strengthen the penalties for animal-fighting crimes in the state.
“Reports of well-to-do, successful role models turning to animal blood sport and torture as a means of entertainment is, quite simply, chilling,” Cohen said. “The grand jury’s actions in the case of Michael Vick helps send the right message: Torturing defenseless animals for fun and profit is disgusting, deplorable, and absolutely unacceptable, no matter who is involved.”
PETA statement
“These dogs didn’t stand a chance. Pit bulls were allegedly hanged, slammed to the ground, electrocuted, and shot. The NFL needs to send a strong message right now by sacking Vick,” says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. “Anyone who could force a dog to fight to the death should be kept away from all vulnerable forms of life, like children and animals. Dogfighting is a coward’s blood sport that deserves harsh punishment, no matter how famous the alleged perpetrators are.”
braissman@nydailynews.com
