Michael Vick has pleaded not guilty to the charges surrounding the dog fighting charges against him. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has banned him from attending training camp. As far as I am concerned, that is a slap on the wrist from the commissioner who has come down like a ton of bricks for lesser offenses than Vicks.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank was going to take a harsher stand than Goodell's by suspending him for four games. Vick has lied and cheated the hands that feed him. Given the recent actions of Goodell, the only action that can be taken is a major suspension. Anything less would label him a hypocrite for the remainder of his time in office.

In his short time as commissioner, Goodell has had to deal with several serious off-the-field issues concerning his players. In dealing with them, he has let it be known repeatedly, that he will not take anything less than every player's best behavior. He has almost unilaterally re-written the personal conduct policy the league uses. Let's review what Goodell has done so far:

Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals was one of nine players from the team arrested in the last year or so. He has been arrested on multiple occasions for offenses ranging from traffic violations, to drug offenses, to weapons violations including assault with a deadly weapon. For all of this, he was suspended by Goodell for two games last season and now will miss the first half of this upcoming season for violations of the league's updated personal conduct policy.

All of Henry's issues with the law are serious. His continued violations of the law show both a level of blatant disregard for it as well as a continued sense of entitlement as to make, for some, his punishment seem lenient. The key point, however, is that he got punished. Goodell made a decision that something needed to be done and he did it. He made a point, as well, that this was his last chance. Anything else would result in the loss of his job forever.

Tank Johnson is another of those that played the part of "whipping boy" for Goodell. He was arrested on multiple gun charges over the last two years, some of which he was guilty and others where there were questions as to his guilt. Ultimately, however, he had to face the consequences for even putting himself into the position of having those questions asked. His punishment went beyond being suspended for eight games of the following season. His bad decision making led to the senseless murder of his best friend while at a downtown Chicago bar.

Johnson was also cut by the Chicago Bears for his last run in with the law. That run in was a speeding violation in his home state of Arizona. He was originally assumed to be driving while intoxicated, but those charges were dropped. It was still enough, however, to cost him his job. He knew the risks and crossed the line anyway. He paid the consequences for his own stupidity.

Lastly, there is the current poster child for ridding the NFL of its thugs, Pacman Jones. Since joining the NFL in 2005, he has been arrested five times and been involved in nearly a dozen altercations and other incidents requiring police intervention. He was present for a fight and subsequent shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA All-Star weekend that left one man in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. The Las Vegas District Attorney's office has charged Jones with two felony counts. In June, members of his entourage were implicated in yet another strip club shooting, this time in Atlanta. There is, apparently, a strong sense in Jones and his friends to redecorate every club they set foot into. In conjunction with all of this, Goodell suspended Jones for the entire 2007 season.

Goodell has laid the groundwork for everything that can and should be done regarding Vick. Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury. If convicted of all charges, he faces many years in a federal prison. At the very least, Vick should be suspended for the upcoming season by the NFL.

Furthermore, he lied to the faces of Goodell and his team's owner Blank, telling both he had no knowledge or involvement in any dog fighting. Blank signed Vick to a $130 million contract. By that alone, Blank should be able to void Vick's contract. It won't happen though, as he will not want the legal wrangling that would follow.

If any of us were to lie about something of this nature to our bosses, we'd be terminated on the spot. While I do not believe that, pending the outcome of the legal proceedings, Goodell will ban Vick from the league, it is not out of the realm of possibility if he is convicted.

Blank has stated he wanted to suspend Vick for four games, but has been told by the league to hold off. I can only hope that he was told this because Goodell has something much harsher and more realistic than four lousy games for this.

What Blank needs to do is cut Vick. He was lied to, and this is after he has stood by Vick's side time after time when the media and fans were all over him for losses the team took. Blank believed in Vick to the tune of $130 million. The loss of faith and trust should be enough to take the financial hit against the salary cap.

The Bears have done so with Johnson. The Titans will likely do so with Jones. The financial implications in those cases are not as extreme as with Vick, but the money should not matter. Owners must take these sorts of stands against players they are making these enormous financial deals with.

Goodell must come down hard on Vick. The others he has brought the hammer down on are role players. They are not the stars or superstars of their respective teams. There will not be the same kind of outcry from fans and supporters of those teams if they're not available to play. Fans will say "well, we'll just go out and sign a free agent" and move on.

The same cannot be said for a player of Vick's caliber. Vick is one of the faces of the league playing the premiere position. Fans will yell and scream and call it any epithet they can.

Goodell must ignore it. Not suspending Vick for the season after suspending the others would make him a hypocrite. In the world of sports, this sort of double standard would be deadly for his reign as commissioner.