The man who so famously outran defenses on punt returns is trying to outrun his mutilated image of a lawless, out-of-control, one-man crime spree. It is not working.
Adam “Pacman” Jones, the talented but tortured Dallas Cowboy cornerback who has exhibited a lust for strip clubs, is engaging in a disturbing pattern of self-immolation. And because of that, he will join teammate and quarterback Romo off the football field for at least the next month, albeit for radically different reasons. While Romo is out four weeks after breaking right index finger during a loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Jones was suspended for at least four games without pay for his latest transgression against the NFL personnel conduct policy, ESPN.com reports. The suspension stems from an incident at an upscale Dallas hotel last week in which Jones and a private bodyguard who was assigned to the mercurial NFL player reportedly got into a brief scuffle in the bathroom at a private affair. It is the latest installment of a trouble-filled saga of Jones has landed him afoul of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell – again.
Goodell is a starched-suit, law-and-order, anal-retentive Commissioner who was brought in to flush out undesirable elements from America’s most popular sport – in order to protect the integrity of the multi-billion dollar enterprise. Jones, and social pariah Michael Vick, who is also indefinitely suspended from the league, are the two most noticeable casualties of the new NFL regime’s intolerance for wayward behavior.
Jones’ latest infraction seems innocuous independently. The off-duty police officer, who is part of the specially-designed security detail for Jones, told team officials that he and Jones engaged in some “kidding around” and “playfulness” that mushroomed into an altercation shortly before 11 p.m. [October 8]. Jones, the bodyguard, Jones’ girlfriend and a cousin vacated the premises before police arrived at approximately 1:30 a.m. Police concluded their investigation and said no charges were warranted. Cowboys’ head coach Phillips did not suspend Jones for Sunday’s game against Arizona.
At the time, Goodell and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones both expressed disappointment at yet another negative news generating incident involving Jones. “I’m disappointed that we’re even discussing this at this point in time,” Goodell told the Dallas Morning News while in Dallas last week to speak with the team. It was telling that Goodell did not speak to Jones. In handing down the suspension, Goodell stated in his report that Jones’ “disturbing pattern of behavior was clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for [Jones’] continued participation in the NFL,” he says. The NFL will determine the final length of Jones’ suspension following the Cowboys’ game against the Redskins in week 11.
ESPN reports that Goodell will decide when and if Jones can return to play again this season, which will be based on his strict compliance with his NFL and Cowboys’ treatment plans as well as on evaluations of Jones’ progress that will be provided to Goodell by clinical experts retained by the NFL.
Jones, an Atlanta native, was a key players for the Tennessee Titan who was suspended a year for multiple infractions against the law, including the infamous fracas at a Las Vegas strip club during the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend that ended with one person being paralyzed from a stray bullet. – terry shropshire.
