PETA Backs Out Of Plans To Use Michael Vick In PSA Effort

Vick Will Be Released From Prison Later This Month

PETA Friday said that it has "no plans to do public-service advertisements" with QB Michael Vick after he is released from prison later this month, according to Paul Newberry of the AP. PETA Assistant Dir of Youth Outreach & Campaigns Dan Shannon responded to an Ad Age report by saying that the organization "withdrew any offer about doing the ads after a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Vick's dogfighting operation found 'he enjoyed placing family pets in the ring.'" PETA had been in "talks with Vick's representatives about doing the ads" until they saw the USDA report. Shannon in a statement said, "In December, after consulting with psychiatrists, PETA withdrew the offer for the TV spot" (AP, 5/1). In the original report, AD AGE's Rich Thomaselli cited sources as saying that the Vick-PETA relationship was "part of a comprehensive PR scheme aimed at rehabilitating the quarterback's image." Shannon is quoted as saying, "We have been in discussions with Michael Vick, with his management team, about the possibility of him putting out a public-service announcement with PETA when he's out of jail" (ADAGE.com, 5/1).

SACKED FOR A LOSS: SPORTINGNEWS.com's Mike Florio cited a source who confirmed that Vick "won't be doing a reality show, despite reports that Vick's people are pitching such a show." The "practical concern is control over the content." Florio reported instead, the "only thing that Vick possibly would do ... is a documentary-style feature" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/30).