Tyme2fish
Commander
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2002
- Messages
- 2,481
RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was dismissed from the team yesterday, the result of numerous legal transgressions and his unsportsmanlike conduct in Monday's Gator Bowl game against the University of Louisville. <br /><br />Virginia Tech President Charles Steger announced the dismissal on the same day that coach Frank Beamer met with Vick and his mother in their Hampton Roads home, the school said in a statement. Beamer informed them of the decision during the meeting. <br /><br /><br /> <br />Vick, brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, was suspended from school in 2004 for several legal problems. The junior came under new and intense scrutiny this week after replays showed he stomped on the left calf of U of L All-America defensive end Elvis Dumervil late in the first half of the Hokies' 35-24 victory. <br /><br />No penalty was called on the play, and Vick claimed its was accidental. Referee Steve Usecheck said later that had he seen the incident, "you bet I would have thrown his -- -- out." <br /><br />Vick further hurt his cause by claiming to have apologized to Dumervil, who said no apology was ever offered. <br /><br />Yesterday it was revealed that Vick had been stopped for speeding and driving with a revoked or suspended license in Hampton on Dec. 17, Cpl. James West said. His license had been taken away in August 2004 when he was cited for reckless driving and marijuana possession in New Kent County. <br /><br />Steger suspended Vick from school at that time and warned him that any additional problems would effectively end his career with the football team. <br /><br />"The university provided one last opportunity for Vick to become a citizen of the university and readmitted him in January 2005, with the proviso that any future problems would result in automatic dismissal from the team," Steger said yesterday. <br /><br />Beamer said in a statement that he was disappointed with the outcome. <br /><br />"We wanted what's best for this football team and Marcus," he said. "I certainly wish him the best." <br /><br />School officials said in a statement that there would be no further comment until a news conference today. Beamer, Steger and athletic director Jim Weaver, who said the stomping embarrassed the university, all are expected to attend. <br /><br />A call to Vick's cell phone was not immediately returned, and his mother, Brenda Boddie, has an unlisted number. <br /><br />U of L football spokesman Rocco Gasparo said the university was "not going to comment on a disciplinary matter involving a player from another school. It's not our place to comment." <br /><br />Vick said before the Gator Bowl that he planned to return for his senior season. Now his choices are to declare for the NFL draft by the Jan. 15 deadline or transfer to a lower-division school so he can play next season. <br /><br />He entered this season knowing he would face hostility from opposing fans, mostly stemming from his drug arrest and another for serving alcohol to underage girls during the 2003 school year. <br /><br />He said he was ready for it, but he reacted to chants of "rapist" and "child molester" at West Virginia on Oct. 1 by making an obscene gesture toward the crowd. He met with Beamer after that incident and apologized to the team. <br /><br />In the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Florida State, he drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct flag for spiking the ball after a touchdown run with the Hokies trailing. After the 27-22 loss, he walked past reporters without commenting, saying he didn't have to.
