NFL sacks jersey intended to mock Vick

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 10:24 a.m.

SUN WIRE SERVICES

NFL officials have decided jerseys mocking Michael Vick's alleged alias "Ron Mexico" are crossing the border of good taste.

The league's merchandise Web site does not allow fans to buy Falcons jerseys personalized with "MEXICO" on the back. The pseudonym was printed in a lawsuit alleging the Falcons star quarterback knowingly gave a woman a sexually transmitted disease. According to the lawsuit, Vick used the alias "Ron Mexico" when being tested or treated.

"We believe it was inappropriate to sell those jerseys because of the recent developments," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

Vick is being sued by a woman claiming to be a former girlfriend who alleges that Vick knowingly gave her genital herpes after an encounter in April 2003.

According to McCarthy, a handful of Falcons No. 7 jerseys with "Mexico" on the back were ordered, but none was delivered. Vick's jersey has been among the league's top sellers since his rookie season in 2001. On the nflshop.com site, an order to purchase a "Mexico" jersey is rebuffed with the message "the personalization entered cannot be accepted."

This is the second time this offseason that the NFL has encountered fans seeking to personalize jerseys with names or words that the league prohibits. When a Louisiana State professor ordered the jersey of a former student, New England Patriots cornerback Randall Gay, she discovered that "gay" was deemed unacceptable. It was on a list of more than 1,100 words or phrases the league would not print on a licensed jersey, drawing fire from gay rights activists. The league has since removed "gay" from its filter. Since the lawsuit became public in recent weeks, Vick has become fodder for jokes on numerous Internet fan sites. A www.ronmexico.com Web site sells T-shirts with "Mexico 7" on the back.

A man who responded via phone to an e-mail request for an interview said he is the site's designer and refused to identify himself because he didn't want the personal attention. He says he is a Chicago technology consultant.

Owens, who helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia, is looking to renegotiate the seven-year deal worth almost $49 million he signed last March.

"This is not about me being greedy or selfish," Owens told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I was called selfish for trying to come back and play in the Super Bowl. I just want people to think about what they're hearing from all these reports about me being greedy. Just take a moment and look at my stature in the game."

Owens fired longtime agent David Joseph and hired Drew Rosenhaus, who met with Eagles president Joe Banner last week. Last year, Joseph failed to file papers that would have made Owens a free agent from San Francisco. Instead, Owens protested a trade from the 49ers to Baltimore, refused to show up for a physical and eventually the three teams agreed to a trade before an arbitrator could rule on the case.

"Everyone knows my former agent settled for a low-ball number because of my situation last season when Baltimore traded for me," Owens said. "He told me he couldn't get a cent more, knowing I deserved more than they gave me.

"They used their leverage to strong-arm us because they knew I wanted to leave Baltimore for Philadelphia, and they capitalized on it. I can't go for that now. It's not in me to do that."

Stroud and the team began negotiations last August, with the 6-foot-6, 312-pound lineman wanting to become the highest-paid defensive tackle.

Detroit's Shaun Rogers signed a six-year, $46 million contract in January.