Upper Deck to Remove Michael Vick From Future Card Collections

By Jeff Ward

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Upper Deck Co., the maker of sports memorabilia that has bid $425 million for Topps Co., won't put cards featuring Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in its collections in the future, joining Nike Inc. and Reebok International Ltd. in dropping him.

The Carlsbad, California-based company also said it would not sell authenticated memorabilia of Vick, including autographed footballs, jerseys and helmets, through its Web site.

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell told Vick not to report to training camp this week because of allegations that he conspired to run a dog-fighting operation at a home he owned in Virginia. Vick pleaded not guilty July 26 in federal court in Richmond, Virginia.

``We believe collectors will agree and support this decision'' not to distribute Vick cards, Kerri Stockholm, Upper Deck's director of marketing, said in a statement distributed by PR Newswire.

Nike and Reebok stopped selling Vick signature apparel yesterday, a day after the quarterback pleaded not guilty.