Michael Vick’s plans to join his New York Jets at training camp at SUNY Cortland has a good chance of being derailed, courtesy of a petition that aims to ban the new Jets quarterback from where the annual event is held.
The New York Daily News reports that more than 1,500 signatures have been collected for the Change.org petition, which is addressed to the school’s president, Erik J. Bitterbaum. The petition is a direct response to Vick’s past ties to an illegal dogfighting ring.
The Jets have held training camp at SUNY Cortland every season since 2009, with exception of the 2011 NFL lockout. Last month, the Daily News mentioned that the team would return to Cortland this summer for the 2014 training camp.
News of the petition comes five years after Vick pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge in 2007. The quarterback ultimately served 19 months in prison for the crime.
“If we welcome Vick onto our campus, we are complicit in his crimes,” the petition stated. “We are sending the message that, for money and publicity, we will turn a blind eye to the horrors of dogfighting.”
The Change.org web page for the petition features an old picture of Vick in an Atlanta Falcons uniform next to a photo of a mutilated dog.
The Jets declined to comment on the petition as SUNY Cortland did not immediately respond to the Daily News’ request for comment.
To see footage pertaining to the petition, check out the video below:
via EURWeb
