With Duke, we were talking about college students who were forced out of school, an entire team that whose season was canceled, more than 20 young men who were smeared by association by a rogue city prosecutor running for reelection.

This is one player who’s not being thrown out of school or denied the right to work. If the Falcons do what they should and cut him, he’ll be free to sign on with any team willing to take the risk that will come with his presence.

It’s also not a local prosecutor looking to score points with the voters; it’s a federal prosecutor. No one else on the team is being charged, and the Falcons’ season and existence aren’t in jeopardy.

The same presumption of innocence applies, which is why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. But the Falcons don’t have to concern themselves about that. They gave Vick that $37-million signing bonus two years ago, and if they cut him, they’ll face a huge cap hit, and that more than anything else might induce them to keep him.

But NFL contracts aren’t like baseball deals. They’re not guaranteed. Teams can cut players for any reason or no reason at all at any time before the season starts. So the Falcons can do what they think is best for the organization, take the cap hit, figure that this year is going to be a bad one, and move on.

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The alternative is to wait out the process, suffer the distractions, grit their teeth when every game is picketed by animal lovers, and risk losing him entirely to a prison term. Better to dump him now than to have him marched out of camp in handcuffs. And if a jury finds him innocent, well, he wasn’t winning that many games anyway.

It would be an easier call if the team had kept talented back-up Matt Schaub, but Atlanta moved him to show Vick how much they love him. Now, the back-up is Joey Harrington, who actually had more yards and a better completion percentage last year in Miami than Vick had in Atlanta. That’s not to suggest Harrington is a better quarterback. He’s not. But at least he can play the position until the team gets someone better. At least he won’t bring shame on the organization.