After Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that Falcons QB Michael Vick would not get suspended for being charged with dogfighting, Vick has now been barred from training camp following massive protests. Goodell has already suspended Pacman Jones (16 games) and Chris Henry (8 games) so for charges as serious as dogfighting, it seems obvious that Vick should be suspended.

However, the move has drawn protest from some black fans. ESPN aired a segment that took note of the racial chasm in opinion (55% of white fans want him released, compared to 26% of black fans) with one man comparing Vick’s suspension to the Duke lacrosse rape case in which the team’s season was canceled due to what turned out to be false charges. A logical point, however, the rape case involved an unverified story by one stripper while the dogfighting case seems to be more straightforward with photos and multiple testimonies available.

At any rate, the two players Goodell has already suspended (Pacman and Henry) have not been proven guilty for their offenses either. (If you were involved in something as innocent as a gunfight, or maybe just DUI, you’d be reprimanded, too, by your employer before proven guilty, and you wouldn’t have an entire network dedicated to airing your complaints.) That said, Jones and Henry’s suspensions came after multiple offenses. Jones was pretty experienced in the barfight, being arrested five times in Nashville, before taking his show on the road for a gunfight in Las Vegas. Henry had been arrested multiple times for offenses including providing alcohol to minors and had been suspended prior by the league for substance abuse.

This, being Vick’s first major offense, was ostensibly the only reason he was not suspended immediately. However, following the protests, it would have been a public relations nightmare not to have done something. Goodell still hasn’t made a decision on the extent of Vick’s punishment, saying, “It is for the justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, but it is my responsibility to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, violated league policy.” His first court date is July 26.

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