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Foxx defends Vick over dog fighting charges

Actor says QB ‘didn’t read his handbook on what not to do as a black star’

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson recently sat down with Jamie Foxx for a candid talk about Jamie’s new gig, and even a hot button topic from the world of sports: Michael Vick’s dog fighting charges.

Foxx is busy doing his thing on “The Foxxhole,” his weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio show. And although an incredible LG Beach House in Malibu provides a spectacular summer backdrop, no subject is off-limits with Jamie, as Robinson found out during her stay as a special guest.

“Is he really going to jail?” Foxx asked about Vick.

“Yes, he’s going to plea bargain,” Robinson said.

Although Vick has been almost universally condemned since agreeing to plead guilty to dog fighting conspiracy, people should not be so quick to judge the NFL star, Foxx said.

“It’s a cultural thing, I think,” Foxx said. “Most brothers didn’t know that, you know. I used to see dogs fighting in the neighborhood all the time. I didn’t know that was Fed time. So, Mike probably just didn’t read his handbook on what not to do as a black star.”

Although he has a way of lightening even the most sensitive of subjects, Foxx sounded sincere in his belief that the quarterback is not being given a fair shake.

“I know that cruelty to animals is bad, but sometimes people shoot people and kill people and don’t get time,” Foxx said. “I think in this situation, he really didn’t know the extent of it, so I always give him the benefit of the doubt.”

On Monday, Vick said through a lawyer that he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.

Vick is scheduled to appear next Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va. According to reports, the recommended sentencing range will be from 12 to 18 months in prison.

Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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