What Up, Dawg?

By Robert Wilonsky Fri., Jul. 27 2007 at 10:12 AM

Categories: Sports

The sight of Nate Newton, all 340 pounds of him, trying to hide behind a tree would have been funny. If he hadn’t been trying to avoid being spotted and arrested by police. At an illegal dog fight.

As Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick prepares for the first of what should be many days in court regarding his alleged involvement in dog fighting, Nate was on the sidelines at Cowboys training camp here in San Antonio recalling the day he got busted for watching a dog fight in the piny woods of East Texas in 1991. The crafty cops somehow spotted him trying to take cover behind a tree. Later the charges were dropped because there was no evidence to support Nate doing anything but watching. But Vick’s case brings the memories back to life.

“I got caught up in it a little, man, but what’s wrong is wrong,” said Newton, a regular contributor on Dallas’ ESPN radio and a training camp analyst for San Antonio’s KENS-TV. “It’s outlawed. It’s wrong. Bottom line.”

Nate says he met a rough crowd through attending dog fights, and his relationships with those folks ultimately resulted in him serving 32 months in federal prison for toting marijuana. He says he’s now sickened by dog fights, but isn’t about to jump Vick’s, um, dog pile.

“I know some of his people and I’d like to talk to him,” said Newton, walking around camp with son and Southlake Carroll star running back, Tre. “If he ever gets this shadow off him, it’ll make him be a better person. I know I am. I was extra stupid. But I’m not giving out advice. I live in a glass house and all my windows are broken. I know how he feels. When I was playing I felt invincible, like nothing or no one could touch me. But the NFL won’t let him turn their league into a joke.” --Richie Whitt

Email to Friend