Early controversies and crimes
Between his selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft and early 2007, Vick was allegedly involved in several incidents:
In early 2004, two men were arrested in Virginia for distributing marijuana. The truck they were driving was registered to Vick. Falcons coach Dan Reeves said he lectured Vick at that time on the importance of reputation, on choosing the right friends, and on staying out of trouble for the good of his team.[70]
On October 10, 2004, Vick and other members of his entourage, including employee Quanis Phillips, were at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport on their way to board an AirTran flight. While they were passing through a security checkpoint, a security camera caught Phillips and Todd Harris picking up an expensive-appearing watch which belonged to Alvin Spencer, a security screener.[71] After watching the theft on a videotape, Spencer filed a police report. He claimed that Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, known as the Falcons' "fixer", interfered with the investigation.[70] Although Vick's representatives declined to make him available for an Atlanta police inquiry, Spencer got the watch back six days later.[71]
In March 2005, Sonya Elliott filed a civil lawsuit against Vick alleging she contracted genital herpes from him in the autumn of 2002 and that he failed to inform her that he had the disease.[72] Elliot further alleged that Vick had visited clinics under the alias "Ron Mexico" to get treatments and thus knew of his condition. On April 24, 2006, Vick's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, revealed that the lawsuit had been settled out of court under undisclosed terms.[73] Many fans bought custom jerseys from NFL.com with Vick's number 7 and the name "MEXICO" on the back. The NFL later banned customizing jerseys with the name Mexico.[74]
After a loss to the New Orleans Saints on November 26, 2006 in the Georgia Dome, Vick made an obscene gesture at fans in an apparent reaction to booing, holding up two middle fingers. He was fined $10,000 by the NFL and agreed to donate another $10,000 to charity.[75]
Vick surrendered a water bottle that had a hidden compartment to security personnel at Miami International Airport on January 17, 2007. "The compartment was hidden by the bottle's label so that it appeared to be a full bottle of water when held upright," police said. Test results indicated there were no illegal substances in the water bottle and Vick was cleared of any wrongdoing.[76] Vick announced that the water bottle was a jewelry stash box, and that the substance in question had been jewelry.[77]
On April 24, 2007, Vick was scheduled to lobby on Capitol Hill, hoping to persuade lawmakers to increase funding for after-school programs. Vick missed a connecting flight in Atlanta on Monday to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. He failed to show up for another seat booked for him later that evening. On Tuesday morning, he did not attend his scheduled appearance at a congressional breakfast where he was to be honored for his foundation's work with after-school projects in Georgia and Virginia.[78] Vick's mother Brenda accepted the award from the Afterschool Alliance.
In 2007, Vicks father, Michael Boddie, made statements about possible dogfighting activities in 2001. Boddie told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that around 2001, Vick was staging dogfights in the garage of the family's home in Newport News and kept fighting dogs in the family's backyard, including injured ones that the father nursed back to health. Boddie said his son had been urged to not engage in the activity, but continued. "This is Mike's thing," he said. "And he knows it."[79] Within days, Vick's mother, Brenda Vick Boddie, told the Newport News Daily Press that "There was no dogfighting. There were no cages."[80]
On January 23, 2010, steroid trafficker David Jacobs told The Dallas Morning News that he supplied steroids to Vick while Vick played for the Falcons. When questioned by federal agents and prosecutors, Vick denied the allegations.[81]