A Beautiful Day In The ‘Hood…
Today, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the vast majority of Tennessee Titans fans very bittersweet happy when he announced suspension, without pay, of the gutter trash named Adam Pacman Jones for the entire season. I commend Mr. Goodell for his vision and courage in this action, and also in establishing a new get tough conduct policy with teeth that will serve to deal with problem children like Jones in the future.
Why do I say bittersweet? Because there is no argument about Jones’ tremendous talent as a football player who can make a difference. Last season we saw how he could turn a game around with one of his elusive scampers up the field returning kicks or interceptions. But he has also become a persistent fungus on the Titans, the NFL, his former teammates, the media, and worst of all, the fans who ultimately paid his exorbitant multi-million dollar salary. His ten scrapes with the law in two years far exceed the bounds of decency.
I don’t really want to hear any more about his childhood in the projects or growing up on the streets. So have plenty of others who have managed to rise to the responsibilities of adulthood and become role models for kids coming up behind them. Do I hope he is able to toe the lines drawn by the commish, finally grow up, and make something of his opportunities? Absolutely. Am I willing to bet that he will? Absolutley not.
For now, and at least until late in the next season, we’re done with him. Goodbye and good riddance… 
GO TITANS!
7 Comments so far
hmmmm…ten scrapes with the law? Is that how much is too much? It happens all the time at all levels…and the consequences are rarely consistent. Enormous talent and potential for bringing in the fans is certainly a consideration.
Yessir, Winston.
Sitting here this morning, it occurs to me that if someone in thinking about this matter feels greater sorrow for the team than for Mr. Jones, that person needs to readjust his/her moral compass a bit. The Titans went above and beyond the point that many reasonable people would have gone where Jones is concerned; now, Jones has some time to reflect on the extent to which he bears some personal responsibility for the fact that he has that time to reflect on these things.
Good luck to him–really, I mean that–and to the Titans.
Winston, I mentioned you over at my blog.
I’m all in favor of the new policy. Tough to lose talented players, but teams and fans really don’t have to tolerate some of the recent actions of a few players. Maybe this will be a wake-up call for some of them.
[...] Winston: I don’t really want to hear any more about his childhood in the projects or growing up on the streets. So have plenty of others who have managed to rise to the responsibilities of adulthood and become role models for kids coming up behind them. Do I hope he is able to toe the lines drawn by the commish, finally grow up, and make something of his opportunities? Absolutely. Am I willing to bet that he will? Absolutley not. [...]
[...] whom we owe a big Thank You every day. But yesterday we all got trumped. When it was announced that Adam Pacman Jones had been suspended for the season, with reinstatement possible only if he complied with a long list of conditions, I jumped to the [...]
Of course I don’t know the background to this story. Is it just another case of the rich and famous behaving badly? But what about the magical talent on the field you have described? Will that be lost? And that doesn’t equal me saying, -big talent can be bad man will turn blind eye; - no no, but just wondering what he will do to help himself?