As expected, Adam "Pacman" Jones has filed for reinstatement to the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he would make a decision on the future of Jones and the NFL before training camp, so most likely in July.
I don't believe the word "thug" correctly describes "Pacman" Jones though. The average sports fan really only knows him from his off-field troubles. What people don't understand, is that he really isn't a thug.
If you look at Jones' past, you would know that he has been somewhat of a philanthropist, even before his legal troubles. He has donated a good sum of money to programs that help firefighters, police officers, etc.
Jones is also a well-educated individual. He was on the honor roll at West Virginia and is allegedly finishing his degree during his suspension from the NFL.
But what is it that got Jones in this "pickle"? When you hear about him and his troubles on ESPN, you always here about his entourage as well. His entourage was involved in a shooting incident even after the stripper melee, Pacman was not present, but it still put him in the news.
Jones' denies knowing the guy that shot the gun that paralyzed Tommy Urbanski (during the stripper melee), though the club owners insist that he did.
Now another member of his entourage was involved in a drug dealing case, and then Jones' was also pulled over for speeding in what was apparently a stolen car. But he had actually won that "stolen" car at a police auction.
Then there's the accusations of him punching a woman in a strip club. The woman was seeking an arrest warrant, though dropped it a day later.
Now that we know of his legal troubles that got him to where he is today, how did he get into these legal troubles in the first place? Could it actually be that in som cases he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or maybe it's the fact that his entourage is consistently in these kinds of skirmishes.
I feel bad for the guy really. He gets sued by a paralyzed man that was shot by someone that was not Jones. The man also claims Jones bit his left ankle, really?
I am going to tell you why Jones needs to be reinstated. It's pretty simple really, he has done his time. He's a lot more focused on coming back to the NFL and not attending strip clubs now.
He has offered to give up $1.2 million in performance bonuses to the Titans after they demanded approximately that much in signing bonuses.
I think that Roger Goodell has proven his point thus far and we can see that off-field antics like Jones' will not be tolerated.
There is no weakness in forgiveness, and I really don't believe that Jones will behave in a manner that Goodell sees unfit by NFL standards again.
Goodell needs to not only look at what Jones has done in the past year, but also recognize that for the punishment he has received as a result of one incident, he has done his time.
After that, Goodell should either look into investigating the other incidents that occurred during that time, and then impose a heavy probation on Jones.
In the meantime, I hope Jones has steered away from his entourage and maybe started being at the right places at the right time. What's wrong about that though? The media mostly just covers the wrong place at the wrong time.
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6 months ago
pakiman jones was my lover and i loved him, love for all.
carmen electra
6 months ago
Kyle your article is absolutely ridiculous. Pacman bought his own car back from The metro Nashville police auction. The car was already emroidered with pacman logos at the time of the drug dealers arrest. He isnt involved huh? And as far as intelligent, you only need to listen to the moron talk. He stated the other day and I quote " I don't believe I'm gonna be a Titans anymore". A Titans? What the hell is a Titans? Anyway Pac is the epitome of a thug and I hope the circus that is ran by Jerry Jones has the luxury of blowing money on an Idiot Like Pac. I give him less than 2 years to be banned from the NFL forever. Good Riddance Pac!!!
6 months ago
Not sure I'm in total agreement - is Jones an angel? I rather doubt it. Does he deserve to be reinstated? Absolutely. Does the almighty Goodell need to take until July to decide? I rather doubt it. The NFL got along for years without Goodell's machinations, and I think he's a power-crazed wimp who just wishes he could play with the big guys.
Think about this a moment - if Goodell had been "in charge" during Brett Favre's drug addiction days, do you think he'd have suspended him? Then what would have happened to that precious record of most consecutive games started? Ricky Williams is shunned and suspended for marijuana - but is that any worse than Vicoden or whatever Favre was on? I don't think so. We need some straight, set, across the board rules that apply to everyone equally - not whatever Goodell decides is "right" for the situation.
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