Updated Jan. 01, 2008
Early 2001 — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, Quanis L. Phillips and Tony Taylor decided to start a venture “aimed at sponsoring American Pit Bull Terriers in dogfighting competitions.” Later that same year, Purnell A. Peace, joined the venture.
May 2001 — Taylor identifies the Surry County, Va., property as a “suitable location for housing and training pit bulls for fighting.”
June 29, 2002 — Vick pays about US$34,000 for the purchase of the property.
2001-02 — Vick and his co-defendants start acquiring pit bulls for the fighting operation.
2002 — Vick and his co-defendants establish “Bad Newz Kennels.”
Summer 2002 — Vick and his co-defendants put dogs through “testing” sessions to determine which animals were good fighters. Dogs that did not perform well were killed, but Vick did not kill any dogs at this time.
2002-07 — “Bad Newz Kennels” operation continued to host dogfights and participate in fights in other states.
April 2007 — Vick, Peace and Phillips conduct additional “testing” sessions, in which six to eight dogs that did not perform well were killed by drowning or hanging. Vick “agrees and stipulates” the dogs all died as a result of the “collective efforts” of all three.
April 20, 2007 — Davon Boddie, Vick’s cousin, is arrested outside a nightclub in Hampton, Va., on marijuana charges.
April 24, 2007 — Vick is a no-show for a congressional breakfast to request more money for after-school football programs.
April 25, 2007 — As part of their investigation, police raid Vick’s Virginia property and find several neglected pit bulls and evidence of dogfighting.
April 28, 2007 — Attending the NFL draft in New York, Vick allegedly tells commissioner Roger Goodell that his friends and family members are responsible for the dogfighting.
May 11, 2007 — Vick tells reporters that lawyers advised him not to make public comments about possible dogfighting on his property.
June 7, 2007 — Federal investigators raid Vick’s property.
July 6, 2007 — Federal prosecutors indicate they have a strong case against Vick.
July 17, 2007 — Vick, Peace, Phillips and Taylor are charged by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Va., with conspiring to engage in competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines.
July 20, 2007 — Animal rights activists protest in New York outside NFL offices. Upstairs, Goodell is meeting with another group of activists.
July 23, 2007 — Goodell orders Vick to stay away from Falcons training camp.
July 24, 2007 — Falcons owner Arthur Blank confirms the team wanted to suspend Vick for four games, the maximum allowed under the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union, but adds he will wait on the NFL to conduct its own investigation.
July 26, 2007 — Vick and his co-defendants plead not guilty to the charges in the indictment.
July 30, 2007 — Taylor changes his plea to guilty and agrees to fully cooperate with the government in its prosecution of Vick and the other two men.
Aug. 17, 2007 — Peace and Phillips, the remaining two co-defendants, plead guilty and implicate Vick in bankrolling gambling on dogfights. One said the quarterback helped drown or hang dogs that didn’t do well.
Aug. 20, 2007 — Vick’s lawyer says the NFL star discussed the matter with his family and decided to plead guilty. A plea hearing is set for Aug. 27.
Aug. 23, 2007 — Vick signs plea agreement and statement of facts admitting to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. He denied betting on the fights, only bankrolling them.
Aug. 27, 2007 — Vick pleads guilty to a federal dogfighting charge and then stands behind a podium to take full responsibility for his actions. He said his job now was “bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player.” He awaits sentencing on Dec. 10, with prosecutors calling for a sentence of between 12 and 18 months.
Sep. 12, 2007 — Eleven dog advocacy groups ask a federal judge to send Vick to prison for nearly five years when the quarterback is sentenced and to turn the property he and others used for dogfighting into a shelter for abused dogs.
Sep. 25, 2007 — Vick and three co-defendants are indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on state charges in Virginia related to the dogfighting ring. Vick has already plead guilty to federal charges, but now faces two felony counts each punishable by up to five years in prison.
Sep. 25, 2007 — The Royal Bank of Canada reveals in court documents it’s suing Vick for more than US$2.3 million, arguing that Vick’s guilty plea and the resulting impact on his career have prevented him from repaying money he borrowed.
Sep. 26, 2007 — Vick tests positive for marijuana earlier this month, a violation of his release conditions. Judge Henry Hudson orders him confined to his Virginia home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and to submit to random drug testing, with one more failed test likely to result in his incarceration.
Oct. 3, 2007 — An attorney for Vick appears in Surry County Circuit Court and is asked to return Nov. 27 to set a trial date. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons are seeking bonus money paid to Vick, claiming he knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed his $130-million deal in Dec. 2004 and that he used proceeds from the deal to fund his dogfighting operation.
Oct. 4, 2007 — NFL Players’ Association lawyers argue that the league’s collective bargaining agreement protects Vick from the Falcons’ attempts to be refunded bonus money. A decision will come from Stephen B. Burbank, the University of Pennsylvania law professor and special master who led the arbitration hearing.
Oct. 9, 2007 — Burbank rules the Falcons are entitled to recover $19,970,000 in bonuses Vick was paid out of a total of $22.5 million. Any money the Falcons recover from Vick would be credited to its future salary cap.
Oct. 9, 2007 — Texas Tech bans the sale of a T-shirt featuring a drawing of a player wearing No. 7 and dangling Texas A&M’s dog mascot by her leash. The red shirts, with black text reading “VICK ‘EM”‘ on the front in a reference to the Aggies’ slogan “Gig ’em,”‘ were created by a Tech student ahead of Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.
Oct. 24, 2007 — Oscar Allen, a man who sold a champion pit bull to Vick’s dogfighting operation, pleads guilty to conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce to aid in illegal gambling and to sponsor a dog in animal fighting. It is the same federal charge to which Vick and his three co-defendants pleaded.
Nov. 9, 2007 — Vick fires Daniel R. Meachum, one of the lawyers representing him in his dogfighting case. Court documents show Vick sent a letter Oct. 26 cutting ties with Meachum.
Nov. 19, 2007 — Vick surrenders to U.S. marshals three weeks before his sentencing and is held in Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw.
Nov. 20, 2007 — Federal prosecutors ask a judge to order Vick to set aside nearly US$1 million for the care of pit bulls seized from his dogfighting operation.
Nov. 27, 2007 — A judge schedules an April 2 trial date for Vick on two state felony dogfighting charges.
Nov. 30, 2007 — The NFLPA asks a federal judge to overturn a special master’s decision for Vick to forfeit the bonus money, arguing his “roster bonus” should be treated the same as a “performance bonus,” which can’t be forfeited under the collective bargaining agreement.
Nov. 30, 2007 — Two of Vick’s co-defendants, Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach and Quanis Phillips of Atlanta, are sentenced to 18 months and 21 months in prison, respectively, on federal dogfighting conspiracy charges.
Dec. 5, 2007 — The remaining 47 pit bulls seized from the dogfighting operation are recommended for placement with rescue organizations by the dogs’ court-appointed guardian.
Dec. 10, 2007 — Vick is sentenced to 23 months in prison. At sentencing, he acknowledges he used “poor judgment” and adds, “I’m willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for my actions.”
Dec. 14, 2007 — Tony Taylor, the man who provided prosecutors most of the information that led to Vick’s downfall, is sentenced to two months in prison.
Dec. 31, 2007 — The home that housed Vick’s dogfighting operation is listed for sale for US$1.1 million. The listing describes the six-hectare country estate in rural southeastern Virginia as “the famous Michael Vick house.”
