Mike Garafolo
USA TODAY Sports
June 19, 2013
The NFL decided last week that, despite Adam Jones' recent arrest on charges of assaulting a woman at a bar, the player formerly known as "Pacman" would still speak at the rookie symposium this weekend about life beyond the football field.
Many have questioned the decision. In turn, Jones is questioning the critics' judgment and maintaining his innocence.
"Why would I not keep talking to the youth and help the youth out like I did last year because of somebody else acting up?" the Cincinnati Bengals cornerback told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday night. "I guess right now I'm getting accused of doing something wrong. The video speaks a thousand words and that'll take care of itself, but I don't see any reason why I should be shying away from any conversations or anything that matters to me and my youth.
"My reputation speaks for itself. I'm a good father, a good husband and I'm good in the community, too. I'm not out getting drunk, harassing people and being a (jerk) to people."
Jones' reputation is much better than it once was, and Jones said his inability to escape his past will be a topic of conversation with the rookies.
"Of course, it will be. No matter how much I've done to improve or give back to the community or just growing as a person, the first time something pops up, it's all, 'Well, he's done this in the past,'" Jones said. "I've made this bed for myself. I'm not comfortable lying in it, but, at some point, the past has to be the past. … I'm truly proud of the person I've become and I'm still growing every day. I don't have no regrets or worries."
A former sixth-overall draft pick, he was – to use his own words – "a knucklehead, just young and dumb" during the early stages of his NFL career. A series of arrests and behavioral issues eventually resulted in his being suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for a full season. Upon his return to the league with the Dallas Cowboys, Jones found himself in even more trouble when he got into a fight with his bodyguard at a hotel. He was suspended again, this time for six games.
Finally, after going unsigned for the entire 2009 season, Jones started to become a better citizen and teammate with the Bengals in 2010. He stayed out of trouble and began serving as a mentor for younger players.
During his speech at last year's rookie symposium, he spotted one player in the audience who wasn't paying attention, much as a younger Jones probably would've acted, and called out that player in front of his peers.
But now, Jones is facing another pending legal matter. And while he continues to claim he acted in self-defense after the woman he struck raised a beer bottle to his head, Jones is hearing plenty of criticism about how he shouldn't have been at a bar in the first place.
"That's ludicrous," he said. "I'm 30 years old, I know how to carry myself, I'm not out acting stupid. I don't want to hear that about how I can't go to a bar. I'm 30 years old. I know how to carry myself as a person. Point blank."
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