Pacman's Apology Isn't Enough

Sometimes, "sorry" just doesn't cut it. Someone needs to tell that to Adam "Pacman" Jones, who is going great lengths to let his fans know how sorry he his for his mistakes. As you may know, the Tennessee Titans' corner back has been arrested ten times since he was drafted into the NFL. He faces a sixteen game suspension at the start of this season that was placed upon him by new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to reprimand the young star, mainly because Las Vegas police want to charge Jones for inciting a fight at a strip club on Feb. 19 that led to a triple shooting. Jones also did not inform the Titans of two arrests in Georgia last year. With all the negative press, Pacman has been looking for a means to get his career back on track- so he purchased a full page spread in The Tennessean, a daily Nashville newspaper. In the spread, Jones pens an open letter of apology to the staff of the Titans and the fans of the football team. The letter appeared in the Friday sports section.

"In the past few weeks, I have learned a lifetime of lessons," says Jones in the open letter. Pacman openly apologizes for the first time to his family, coaches, teammates, and the Titans fans. In the letter, Jones focuses on exceeding the expectations set for him, saying "The first step in meeting these goals is for me to stop making the poor choices that have put me in this position." Jones also announced his plans to appeal the suspension, acting on the advice of his attorney. Pacman claims that the unprecedented punishment was too harsh, and he will do whatever it takes to get back on the field. If not allowed back, Jones is going to re-enroll in college and start a scholarship fund for football players at Western Virginia University.

Pacman Jones is a fraud. He is a liar, he is a criminal, and he is a stain on the face of the NFL.

Perhaps my moral compass is a little off, but Adam Jones' situation simply boggles my mind. Let's start at the beginning, when Jones was drafted sixth overall in the 2005 draft. He had already been arrested while in college, and granted, the Titans should have known the risk they were taking in drafting Jones. Less than two years later, Pacman has been arrested ten times. A man that is being paid millions of dollars a year to represent the National Football League and to be a good role model to young athletes across the United States has been arrested ten times in less than two years. Yes, I know he hasn't been convicted of anything. Yes, I also understand the problems with racial profiling in the police force, and the fact that he is becoming a household name is only fueling the media frenzy every time Jones so much as rubs shoulders with law enforcement. However, you don't just get arrested in the double-digits for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And even if that is the case, you would think he'd learn his damn lesson sometime around the sixth or seventh time he was getting handcuffed and driven to the ground with forearm shivers to the head. As I've always said, once a thug, ALWAYS a thug. Adam Jones will never learn his lesson, he will never separate himself from the streets, and he will never be the role model the NFL wants their stars to be.

This brings us to the back page of Friday's The Tennessean. According to a report on ESPN.com, "a full-page black and white ad in [the] Friday edition has a listed price of $11,535.30." Obviously, it is a pittance of Jones' salary to post his letter of apology in the paper- but now doubts are surfacing as to whether he even paid the listing price. If you haven't figured it out yet, the letter of apology is one enormous publicity stunt by a soulless man who doesn't realize that saying "sorry" in a newspaper isn't going to fix all the mistakes he's made in the last two years. A half-hearted attempt to persuade Roger Goodell that he has changed won't cut it either- Goodell reviews all appeals of suspensions personally.

What is the one cardinal rule in all professional sports? Never consider yourself above the game. That is exactly what Jones is doing- using his fame as leverage, he breaks the law and then tries to weasel his way out of his punishment via public apologies. If you were arrested ten times in a two year span, would you expect to keep your job? Hell no! So why should the rules apply differently to Adam Jones?

You may be asking, what exactly should Goodell do? Simple. Make an example out of Jones. Don't review his appeal, keep him out of the league for a year, and then ban him permanently if he is convicted in the Las Vegas shooting. The NFL needs to clean up their image, and they may never have a better opportunity than the here-and-now with Pacman Jones.

Source: ESPN.com