Even if Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick manages to beat the dogfighting rap, he will still be guilty of the one transgression that trips up many black people who find overnight wealth and fame.

The transgression? Bad association.

In a twist that spells real bad news for the man who prosecutors say is the money man behind “Bad Newz Kennels,” Tony Taylor, one of Vick’s associates, pleaded guilty to helping Vick and two other co-defendants start a dogfighting ring in 2001.

According to The Washington Post, prosecutors wouldn’t comment on whether Taylor now plans to testify against Vick. But in the unlikely event that he doesn’t roll over on his boy, the “Summary of the Facts,” statement that Taylor signed as part of his plea deal is damning enough.

Among other things, the statement says that dogfighting ring’s operations and gambling money were almost exclusively funded by Vick, that he paid more than $30,000 to buy the Virginia property where the fights were held, and that he helped electrocute, hang or drown dogs.

Like everyone else, I believe that Vick -- who had pleaded not guilty to the accusations -- deserves his day in court. But what I’d really like to know is why someone with his wealth and fame would get tied up with someone like Taylor -- a man who likely has nothing to lose by flipping on him now and talking about it to Bill O’Reilly or Nancy Grace later.

I’d like to know why he got hooked up with losers such as Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips -- all of whom have criminal records ranging from drug-trafficking to domestic violence -- when it was clear that he was going to be a winner in life.

Spurning them wouldn’t have been a matter of snobbery, but a matter of survival.

In this scandal Vick, whose only records are those he set on the football field and not in criminal court, is the only one with everything to lose. He’s already been suspended from his lucrative Nike and Reebok contracts. And if Vick’s convicted, he could lose six years of his life to a stint in prison.

And his previously unknown co-defendants? They’ll gain some fame, maybe even some book deals, by exploiting his stupidity.

Some of the reasons behind Vick’s troubles, of course, obviously lie with the intoxication that comes with fame. Unfortunately, far too many people like Vick use it as a pass to get away with abhorrent behavior rather than rise above it.

Rather than use it as a means to try new ventures or to broaden their circle of influences, they’d rather engage old habits and stay stuck in the same cycles from which new opportunities should have helped them escape.

That includes them purging their Rolodexes of toxic friends.

And while Vick is innocent until proven guilty, an indictment is still a serious thing. And if he is convicted, no one should waste any emotional capital on defending him.

Dogfighting is illegal for a reason. It is an extremely cruel sport -- if one can deign to call it that. Spectators cheer as pit bulls rip off each other’s ears and flesh, often until one dies or collapses in a pool of blood. The bloodletting can last for minutes or can drag on for hours. It isn’t graceful or natural. It’s mean. It’s the stuff that future serial killers and wife beaters get off on.

Another sad footnote here is that fighting dogs can’t even have a chance at a new life with a loving family because they are too aggressive. They might chew off the hand of the baby who tries to pet them.

So they must be euthanized.

And any black person who believes that dogfighting is a blip that is being exaggerated by mostly-white animal rights fanatics ought to take a closer look.

A good share of dogfighting occurs in inner-city communities. Meaning that if a fighting dog gets loose, it won’t be able to distinguish a small child who wanders out of the house from an opposing dog -- and will either kill or severely maim that child.

It’s a crime not only against dogs, but one that can claim human casualties as well.

Also, as black communities struggle with the ravages of violence, we ought to be appalled at any sadistic rite that further desensitizes us or our children to violence and suffering.

Dogfighting does exactly that.

Vick has quite a slog ahead of him. But regardless of his guilt or innocence, the truth is that he shouldn’t even be in this situation. He shouldn’t have put himself in a position to be associated with an illegal sadistic practice with felons and miscreants who don’t have his talent, but want to hone in on part of his life.

And from the looks of things right now, it seems like they will. To his detriment.