Players association says Vick, executive director Smith have already met

NFLPA: Vick met with union leader on Tuesday

RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick met with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith earlier this week, after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback finished serving 23 months in federal custody for a dogfighting conviction.

George Atallah, assistant executive director for external affairs of the player’s union, says Vick and Smith met one-on-one on Tuesday. Atallah gave no additional details.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Vick indefinitely, and said Tuesday that he’ll decide whether to reinstate Vick “in the near future.” Goodell did not elaborate, but has said repeatedly in recent months that he would wait for Vick to finish serving his sentence before meeting with the 29-year-old quarterback.

Vick was freed from home confinement Monday, but still must serve three years’ probation for his federal conviction and a related state conviction.

NFL training camps open for veterans next week.

The union’s position has been that it will support Vick on a personal level until Goodell decides how to proceed, but Atallah said Smith will likely raise the issue with Goodell.

“They talk frequently on a number of issues and I’m sure this is going to be one of them at some point,” Atallah told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Vick’s meeting with Goodell is critical to his chance at winning reinstatement. The commissioner has said he wants to see remorse and evidence that Vick has changed. Goodell also has said that Vick must not only convince him, but the public that he is reformed.

AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this report.