On the heels of recently being told by owner Jerry Jones to chill down his profile, Cowboys’ cornerback Pacman Jones got into a violent altercation with one of his own security guards at the new Joule Hotel at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
That’s it. The end. Let me say it unequivocally: Pacman Jones shouldn’t be allowed to play in the NFL.
He just took his last chance and shit on it.
In this latest incident there’s no arrest and no charges. But you’d have to be dumber than Pacman to categorize it as no biggie.
Barely a month since being reinstated from a year-long suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Jones was allegedly at a party for the new Mark Wahlberg movie, Max Payne. He was hanging out with his girlfriend and rapper Ludacris when he got into a fight with one of his team-assigned bodyguards that spilled into a bathroom. A mirror was broken. A bill wasn’t paid. Alcohol, according to a police spokesman, was involved.
Goodell arrived at Valley Ranch, coincidentally, on Wednesday to talk to the Cowboys about the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Earlier in the day in San Antonio he told reporters about Pacman:
“Adam knows how much emphasis I put on making sure that he makes good choices going forward, that he avoids situations where he can reflect poorly on himself, the Cowboys or the NFL.”
Uh-oh. I’d say drinking and being at a party at 1:30 a.m. and fighting with one of your own security guards reflects poorly on himself, the Cowboys and the NFL. You?
In the weeks since his reinstatement, there have been whispers that Pacman has grown a little more lax in his lifestyle discipline and had began testing the boundaries of his reinstatement, which included staying away from parties, night clubs and topless bars. He appeared on stage at a Nelly concert and the Cowboys recently prohibited him from attending a charity sand volleyball tournament he was scheduled to host along with Mavericks’ forward Brandon Bass.
I even had a topless bar regular tell me two weeks ago that Pacman has resumed associating with strippers. “Only now,” the source said, “he’s gotten smart. He doesn’t go to the topless clubs. He brings the girls to him.”
Nothing wrong, much less illegal, about that in private. But causing a ruckus in the public eye spells big-time trouble. Especially when you’re fighting with a guy hand-picked to keep you out of trouble. Especially when reinstated, on Aug. 28, you crowed about embracing your responsibilities.
“I'll make sure I put myself in way better situations than I have put myself in the past.”
Pacman has been a disappointment on the field, yet to produce a signature play as a cornerback or kick returner. If he is again suspended – or banned from the league – it will put the Cowboys in a secondary bind, in light of Terence Newman’s sports hernia.
If Goodell punishes Pacman – as he should – the Cowboys would recoup a 5th-round draft from the Tennesse Titans.
Remember, back in training camp Jerry Jones admitted that Pacman’s benefit of the doubt is gone. Now, too, should be his second chances. And, for that matter, his seventh chances. – Richie Whitt
