RALEIGH, N.C. — The image of the American pit bull terrier was once the smiling dog living in a shoe with Buster Brown, or the lovable pooch with the circle around one eye that used its powerful jaws to pull members of the "Little Rascals" from danger.

But today, many see the pit bull as something very different: As either the center of a rural, Southern white tradition of animal baiting, or the vicious devil dog snarling on the covers of rap CDs or mauling other dogs for big-time purses, as in the recent indictment of NFL star Michael Vick.

"It's important to understand that this isn't about race, but it is about culture," said Cindy Cooke of the United Kennel Club. "One is rural, and the other is urban. But both are equally horrible."

The colors they have in common are the red of blood and green of money, says Cooke, an attorney and legislative specialist for the Michigan-based group.

The blood sport of dogfighting has operated underground for years, but many agree the hip-hop use of pit bull images moved it out of the shadows — and the Vick case placed it at center stage.

The star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, who is black, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in U.S. District court in Richmond, Va., on charges of sponsoring, along with three others, a brutal dogfighting ring on property he owns in Smithfield, site of their Bad Newz Kennels.

The document outlines a cruel operation in which dogs with names such as Maniac and Big Boy are forced to do battle in carpeted pits for purses as high as $26,000. The men allegedly "rolled" young dogs in test bouts, and those animals lacking the desired killer instinct were "executed" — shot, drowned, electrocuted, hanged or, in one case, body-slammed to the ground.

The American pit bull was developed in the late 19th century by British breeders crossing bulldogs with terriers. They were "looking for a dog that combined the gameness of the terrier with the strength and athleticism of the Bulldog," the kennel club says.

But to a dogfighter, "gameness" is code for a dog's ability to keep struggling, even as its body goes into shock from blood loss.

"It's all tied into the hip-hop culture, the image and projection of a dog as an extension of your manhood," says Karen Delise, a veterinary technician who has studied fatal dog attacks for 15 years and is the author of the book "The Pit Bull Placebo: The Media, Myths and Politics of Canine Aggression." "The pit bull is the ultimate accessory."

It's not just white people such as Delise saying that.

"Hip-hop culture put Vick in this bind," declared the headline on a recent column in The Kansas City Star. Staff columnist Jason Whitlock, who is black, said he hoped Vick's troubles would "serve as yet another wake-up call for black athletes to reject the hip-hop/prison culture that glorifies much of the negative behavior and attitude that has eroded the reputation of black athletes."

Gerald Early, a professor of English and African-American studies at Washington University in St. Louis, thinks there is some truth to the argument that rap and hip-hop music have helped make the pit bull the "tough dog of the day."

Early, who is black and has written extensively on athletics in black culture, says football is a macho sport dominated by black men, many of them raised on rap and "fired up by the sort of romantic image of being a gangster."

The Humane Society of the United States points to CDs such as DMX's "Grand Champ" — code in the dogfighting world for an animal that's won five straight contests — or to the video for Jay-Z's "99 Problems," which features a pit bull lunging at the camera.

Falcons delay suspending Vick while NFL investigates

Horrified by the dogfighting allegations against their star player, the Atlanta Falcons planned to suspend quarterback Michael Vick for four games until the NFL asked the team to hold off while it conducts an investigation.

Vick's status

"This sort of behavior is really horrific," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Tuesday. "But these are charges. We have to let the legal process play out."

Blank said he would encourage Vick, indicted on federal charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation, to put his career on hold.

"Prior to this, we were pursuing the maximum discipline, which is a four-game suspension," Blank said. "We had gone so far as to draft the letter. But the commissioner asked us not to take action until they completed their review."

Commissioner's take

Commissioner Roger Goodell discussed Vick's case during a news conference with NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw.

"Let me make it very clear that the National Football League is very disappointed that Michael put himself in this position," Goodell said. "In no way do we think that dogfighting or anything related to dogfighting is acceptable. We think it's despicable, frankly."

Still, the commissioner said it was important to hold off on disciplining Vick while the courts weighed in.

Quarterback issue

For now, Joey Harrington, who has been mediocre in Detroit and Miami, is Atlanta's starting quarterback.