AP

Michael Vick is one of 16 NFL players who advanced to the second round of the “tournament” that EA Sports is holding to determine who will be on the cover of this year’s Madden video game. The folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are not happy about that.

EA Sports President Peter Moore says PETA has urged his company to take Vick out of the March Madness-style bracket, in which 32 NFL players are matched up, with fans voting online to decide who advances to the next round. Vick won his first-round matchup and is now paired with Andre Johnson in the second round.

“I can tell you we’ve already received the letters from our good friends at PETA urging us to take him out of the bracket,” Moore said at the World Congress of Sports, via CNBC. “I’m not here to comment on what he did. I personally believe, and this is personal commentary right now, that Michael served his time. He’s had a tremendous season.”

Moore says EA isn’t making value judgments. It just tried to pick 32 good players and let the fans take it from there.

“We believe that Michael Vick, as the runner-up in MVP for the league and the comeback player of the year, deserved his slot,” Moore said.

So if PETA doesn’t want Vick on the cover of the Madden game, a letter-writing campaign to EA Sports isn’t going to get the job done. Instead, PETA should urge its members to vote for Andre Johnson.