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March 1, 2007

Dope of the month: Pacman Jones

Hey all --

We know we usually have a dope of the week, but since we haven't chosen one since early January (Rex "It was New Year's Eve and I wanted to party like everyone else instead of prepare to do my job" Grossman), and given the sheer magnitude of his stupidity, Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones is getting a special dope of the month shout-out.

Actually, it spans two months: February and March. With all the news that's coming out on this clown, it would take a lot for someone to unseat him in the next 30 days.

Oh, where to begin?? Let's start with the most recent news: Jones received subpoenas for felony and misdemeanor obstruction of justice to appear in court in Fayetteville, Ga. because of an incident in Feb. 2006.

Fayetteville police chief Steve Heaton told The Tennessean newspaper: "One of our officers was involved in a traffic stop with him, and after Pacman and others ran into a home, there was a physical altercation between him and the officer, and he was involved in that. He was arrested for that."

The charges were not immediately filed. A month after that incident, Jones was apparently picked up for marijuana possession in the same county, but those charges were dismissed.

And lest we forget, there's still the investigation in Las Vegas, where Jones has been mentioned as being a friend of the gunman in a triple shooting at a strip club during the NBA's All-Star weekend. One of the men shot is paralyzed from the waist down.

Before we go further, we should say that at this point, Jones has not been named a suspect or person of interest in the shooting.

Jones and his hangers-on (a number estimated between 6 and 20) were at the Minxx Gentlemen's Club at a party also attended by hip-hop stars Nelly and Jermaine Dupri. A fight broke out -- apparently among the dancers to begin with -- while Jones was throwing $1 bills into the air over the dancers in a (foolish) practice known as "making it rain."

(There's even a rap song about it. Sometimes I am so ashamed to say I am part of the hip-hop generation, so please don't shoot the messenger on the content of those "lyrics.")

Not only did Jones allegedly hit one of the dancers, he also allegedly told a bouncer who had put him in a submission hold, "you're going to die tonight."

The club owner said one of the men forced out of the club with Jones returned later and shot the bouncer, another man and a female patron.

By The Tenneseean's count, Jones has now been involved in 10 off-field incidents since the Titans drafted him in the first round of the 2005 draft.

I understand that the NFL is a business, and the bottom line is winning, and that Pacman Jones -- on the field -- is talented. But at what point does dancing with the devil become too hazardous? Many observers/followers of the NFL believe that the league needs to start punishing players who have a high incidence off-field problems -- Jones, the Bengals' Chris Henry, the Chargers' Terrence Kiel -- and add my voice to them.

You can't run around thinking the law doesn't apply to you just because you're an NFL player. You think you have so much money? Pay one of those flunkies that follow you all over the place to be your designated driver instead of getting picked up for DUI. Don't walk into a club and think you own the place/can do/get whatever you want just because you make a little money.

Here's an easy one: remember the lessons your mama, or daddy, or grandma, or church tried to instill in you. I don't think any of them would advocate getting into tussles with cops or punching women in the face.

Okay, rant over.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:23 PM | Permalink