First, Nike and the NFL have every right to attempt to purge the world of Michael Vick and everything Vick-related. They can stop selling his jerseys and his shoes and his trading cards. They can -- and did -- tell esteemed columnist Deion Sanders that he can't publish a column in a Florida newspaper attempting to explain his earlier semidefense of Vick.

Hey, it's a free market, which means you really aren't free to do much of anything -- even put words on paper -- if the people who employ you decide they don't like what you have to say.

The NFL can decide that it believes Vick is guilty, and therefore prohibit him from doing his job. The Atlanta Falcons can say they would have done the same if the NFL hadn't won the race of the righteous. Nike and Reebok and the cardmakers can pull every shred of Vick from the shelves. Innocent until proven guilty only holds in a court of law, not in the world of commerce.

Nike issued a statement proclaiming the obvious -- Vick is presumed innocent -- and then called off its association with him. Fine. No problem.

But isn't this rush to evaporate Vick a little creepy? Does he cease to exist if his jersey isn't in the store and his shoes never leave the warehouse?

Of course, here is the moment when the following must be said: If the allegations against Vick are true, he needs to be punished. Fullest extent of the law and all that. Nobody can read the indictment without tasting a little bile. Nobody can successfully defend the practice of dogfighting, not even someone as crafty with words as Deion.

But still, the rush to purge Vick is strange, even a little perverse. The same people who base entire marketing campaigns on the edginess of athletes such as Vick -- hello, Nike -- scurry to distance themselves when edgy turns into something as abhorrent as Bad Newz Kennels.

When the pressure's on and a group with the clout of America's dog owners stands up to be heard, there's only one way to turn -- away.

So the forced evaporation begins.

Michael Vick? Didn't he play in the NFL once?

This Week's List

• Nostalgia corner: Remember when we all thought Marcus was the Vick with all the problems?

• Welcome to America's strangest new reality show "Go Ahead -- Believe a Boxer," with this week's guest, Floyd Mayweather Jr.: (1) Mayweather in May: "Oscar De La Hoya will be my last opponent"; (2) Mayweather in July: Signing up to fight Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas.

• He was probably out ladling soup to the indigent at a nonprofit kitchen: Mayweather failed to show up for the year's major fundraiser for his own charitable foundation.

• You know what they always say -- we'll play whoever decides to show up: A half-page Oakland A's ad in the San Francisco Chronicle's sports section encouraged fans to come out to watch the Angels on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then the Tigers through the weekend.

• Just one problem: It's the Tigers during the week, and the Angels over the weekend.

• Just for the heck of it: Cecilio Guante.

• He also said they'll be better off when they get that damned Zito contract off the books in 2013: Giants managing partner Peter Magowan said the Giants will be better off once Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron, even though Magowan and his management team made sure the team's entire season -- on and off the field -- would revolve around the home-run chase.

• Quick, give this man his own show: Barry Bonds called Bob Costas a "midget man" and said Curt Schilling likes bacon.

• Also over the weekend: Some guy won the Tour de France after his team didn't withdraw.

• Hey, we're at threat level orange here, so we can't be too cautious: An American Legion team in Washington was forced to forfeit a 14-0 win in a district tournament when the losing team protested because the winners had silk-screened American Legion patches on their arms instead of the officially mandated sewn-on patches.

• No, really: That's not a joke.

• If Bobby Knight was coach, he would have found a trash can for every last one of them: The U.S. basketball team took fifth in the Pan American games after losing to Uruguay in the opening round and pulling out a three-point win over Panama in the fifth-place game.

• The old guy thought he stunk, too, but he kept it to himself: Golfer Jay Williamson fired his caddie on the 15th hole of the first round of the Canadian Open on Thursday, and finished up with a 69-year-old man he chose from the gallery.

• We shouldn't be allowed to buy his shoes, either: The Tennessean in Nashville, Tenn., has reported that Pacman Jones is in discussions with a professional wrestling group called Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

• And finally: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling seems like an unwieldy name for a sports organization, until you stop and consider the catchy acronym -- TNAW.

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Sound off to Tim here.