The early signs suggest that testing the patience of new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not a smart move. Yet Adam “Pacman” Jones continues to dare football’s first-year head honcho to ban him from the game for good.
Already suspended by Goodell for the 2007 season, Jones has again run smack into trouble as his bloated criminal ledger grows. The Titans’ troubled cornerback is being sought by Atlanta police for questioning about a shooting early yesterday involving members of his posse after a fight at a strip club.
Jones, his entourage and three others became embroiled in an altercation, apparently over a woman, at a club around 4 a.m., officer Ariel Toledo told the Associated Press. After the melee ended, Jones and his group left the strip club in three cars while the three other people left in another car when someone in Jones’ group started firing shots and the others returned fire, according to Toledo.
Toledo said Jones, 23, was not present when the shots were fired.
“We believe he knows some of his entourage who were involved in the shooting,” Toledo told the AP. “On himself, we do not have any charges on him. He wasn’t there when the shooting occurred.”
A bystander who was outside the cars and not involved in the incident was injured by debris in the shooting and was treated by emergency medical technicians, Toledo said.
Jones, increasingly the poster child for bad actors in the NFL, is on suspension for his involvement in a fracas and shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA’s All Star weekend in February. The cornerback last week decided not to appeal the suspension, meaning he is eligible to be reinstated after 10 games for good behavior if he complies with conditions established by Goodell and the Titans, is not arrested again and has “no further adverse involvement with law enforcement.”
This is another blot on Jones’ damaged reputation and surely will not sit well with Goodell, who is serious about a zero tolerance doctrine in his new NFL personal conduct policy. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Post yesterday that the league is “looking into” this latest Jones transgression in Atlanta.
The investigation continues as to what role Jones played in the February shooting in Las Vegas that resulted in the paralysis of a bar employee and the wounding of two other people. That incident was the 10th time Jones had been questioned by police. Jones has been arrested five times. He has not been convicted of any crimes since being drafted in 2005.
On the field, Jones’ skills are undeniable. He led the Titans last season with four interceptions – two against the Giants in Tennessee’s remarkable 24-21 comeback victory – and led the NFL in punt-return average. He also returned three punts for touchdowns.
If he sits out the entire 2007 season, Jones stands to lose all of his salary – close to $1.3 million.
Manny Arora, Jones’ attorney, said he expects Jones will aid the police investigation.