NFL commissioner Roger Goodell showed his forgiving side and decided not to suspend Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick for a shooting that took place at Vick’s birthday party last month in Virginia Beach.

Police decided not to file charges in the cases against Vick after concluding that Michael was not the shooter at the party. Attorney Harvey L. Bryant said that the investigation revealed that Vick had nothing to do with the incident and that Michael "was not aware of whether or not anyone was going to be shot, was threatened to be shot or anything to do with any of that business."

Coincidentally, the victim of the shooting has been identified by Michael Vick’s attorney as Quanis Phillips. You may recall that Phillips was a co-defendant along with Vick in the 2007 dog fighting trial. Phillips ended up pleading guilty to the charges and in turn received a reduced sentence.
Michael Vick was involved in a confrontation that took place before the shooting, but Bryant emphasized that Vick was not present when the shooting occurred.

"The investigation shows he was not physically present when the shooting took place," Bryant said. "There were some confrontations between individuals and between groups and Michael Vick was involved in one of those confrontations."

Vick recently had a lengthy phone conversation with commissioner Goodell about the incident sources said. Goodell encouraged Michael to make better decisions regarding his personal life. Vick and Goodell will have a face to face meeting on August 3rd in Lehigh, Pennsylvania, the site of the Eagles training camp.

I don’t know the exact words that were said in the phone conversation between commissioner Goodell and Michael Vick, but I have to imagine that Goodell reiterated to Vick that he needs to surround himself with people of a higher character. The dog fighting charges were atrocious and it has been an uphill climb for Michael to work himself back into the league, but he needs to stop getting himself entangled in these situations. Even though police have determined that he wasn’t involved with the shooting, when guests bring guns to your birthday party that speaks volumes about the company you are keeping.

A source said that "Michael realizes he may not be so lucky the next time."

Goodell’s reign as commissioner thus far has been all about “upholding the NFL shield” and holding players accountable for their actions. Commissioner Goodell showed compassion in this particular case after no direct link was found between Vick and the incident. Goodell’s compassion is something that Vick shouldn’t get used to though, especially from this commissioner who has such a no nonsense attitude toward bad behavior.

Thoughts comment opinions let me know

If you like what I have to say follow me on twitter at

http://twitter.com/RWEILnumonefan