SUNY Cortland students started a petition on the website Change.org to ban quarterback Michael Vick from practicing on campus.
Vick’s new team, the New York Jets, trains on Cortland’s campus over the summer. The petition says Vick’s participation in dog fighting should not be forgotten. Their anger at Vick stems from federal dog-fighting conspiracy charges against him in 2007.
“If we welcome Vick onto our campus, we are complicit in his crimes,” the petition says. “We are sending the message that, for money and publicity, we will turn a blind eye to the horrors of dogfighting.”
The petition is addressed to Erik Bitterbaum, SUNY president and — seriously, a word of warning — contains a graphic image of a pit bull.
As of 1:15 p.m. Thursday, more than 14,000 people have signed the petition. That’s far from the number it takes to get it in front of the White House, but it’s still a pretty substantial number for such a localized item.
The quarterback served 19 months in prison after pleading guilty.
