#2. Star Athlete Dogged by Animal Cruelty

Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who was the NFL's first draft pick in 2001, was suspended indefinitely from the league in August after he admitted to funding a dogfighting ring on his property and to being complicit in the killing of at least six dogs using such methods as hanging and drowning. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell freed the Falcons to recover $22 million of Vick's signing bonus, but has yet to decide whether to reinstate him after his incarceration ends. "I'm totally responsible," Vick said at a press conference. "Dogfighting is a terrible thing." On Dec. 10, he was sentenced to 23 months in jail.