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Overlooked in the question of whether the attempt to obtain a felony arrest warrant for unpaid gambling markers will affect the attempt of Cowboys cornerback Pacman Jones to win reinstatement to the NFL is whether the mere fact that Jones was back in Las Vegas and hanging out at a casino will hurt his chances.
As one league source advised us, Commissioner Roger Goodell is not happy that Jones was back in Vegas. “It means Jones was in Vegas hanging out after the shooting incident and after Jones told Roger that he was changing his ways,” the source said.
But whether Goodell’s displeasure with Pacman’s behavior will be enough to keep him out remains to be seen. The fact that Pacman’s rights are now held by one of the most powerful of the 32 persons to whom Goodell reports is the one fact that most strongly favors Pacman’s desire to get back into the game.
“The best thing Jones has going for him is the other Jones,” the source said.
And the other Jones is Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys.
A decision on Pacman’s status could come any day, and is expected to be made during the week of June 2.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:21 am
Odell Thurman should sue the NFL if Pacman is reinstated.
How in the world do you suspend a guy with a substance abuse problem for 2 years and let the Rainman back in?
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 11 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:28 am
Well we will see soon if he is a changed man and for his and the Cowboys sake i hope that he is.
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:36 am
So is Pac Man now banned from going to Vegas? Roger Goodell ought to look at the Constitution of the United States of America once in a while.
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Rating: 2.4 / 5 with 16 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:42 am
How in the world do you suspend a guy with a substance abuse problem for 2 years and let the Rainman back in? By signing off on a Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows for it. The CBA has specific language in it allowing for penalties regarding substance abuse…..there is nothing specific agreed to for criminal violations.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
Goodell should be pleased - Pacman went to Vegas and he didn’t shoot “nobody” this time. I’d say he’s growing up…
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:56 am
It makes perfect sense . . . Pacman was suspended . . Thereafter, he went to ‘Vegas, gambled, the casino lent him money, which he repaid late only after he was threatened by the State collection agency . . . so Goodell may be upset that he even returned to Vegas. Nothing illegal done. I guess the “he is putting himself in a bad position” argument must be in play.
It was dumb when Jerry Angelo said it about Cedric Benson. It is dumb for Goodell to consider it now. Criminal action should be punished by the employer. Legal activity — even if “dumb” — should not be punished.
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 11:18 am
@ WhoDeyThinkGonnaBeatDemBengals says:
“Odell Thurman should sue the NFL if Pacman is reinstated.
How in the world do you suspend a guy with a substance abuse problem for 2 years and let the Rainman back in?”
haha, NICE, Odell Thurman just has a “substance abuse problem”! That’s all!
No no NO. Thurman was suspended for four games for failing or refusing to take a drug test prior to the 2006 season. WHILE UNDER SUSPENSION and less than a week after Roger Goodell visited Cincinnati and reminded players of their responsibility to stay out of trouble and represent the league honorably, he got busted for DUI with a BAC of more than twice the legal limit and his suspension was extended through the 2006 season. Then before the 2007 season, Thurman settled a Georgia case in which he was accused of assault.
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Rating: 3.45 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 11:37 am
Oh yeah, he’s a changed man. A guy with his penchant for reckless abandon can easily turn around on a dime. Just believe everything he says, and everything will be fine.
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Rating: 4.45 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 11:45 am
Unless Pacman did something illegal in Las Vegas, his choice to travel to the city should have no affect whatsoever on Roger Goodell’s decision making process.
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Rating: 2.45 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 11:47 am
Well there’s always the CFL aka The NFL’s sewerage treatment facility. It’s a magic place where turds go to die.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
No, see, Adam Jones turned what he does in his spare time into Goodell’s business when he chose to be involved in a plethora of criminal incidents. The league has asked Jones to behave better, and he’s not doing it. I’m not saying he’s got to live like a monk, but if a church pastor was caught hanging out in a strip club “on his own time” you think his church is going to care? Employers absolutely have every right to be concerned with what their employees do.
As far as the bozos clamoring on about the Constitution… I think YOU need to read it. Or else somebody ripped the “NFL rights and limitations” section out of my copy. Because as far as I know, the Constitution does not have much to say about protecting anybody from their employers, but rather the government’s rights, duties and expectations.
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Rating: 4.15 / 5 with 14 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Once again, Adam Jones is unable to go more than a few weeks without making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Those who continue doing what they’ve always done will get what they’ve always gotten.
Adam wants his situation to change, but is still expecting other people to make these changes. In the past, he expected the Titans organization to bend over backward and coddle him like a petulant child. Now he’s convinced that everything will be daisies and lollipops, as soon as Big Bad Roger Goodell reinstates him. It used to be the Titans’ fault, now it’s Roger Goodell…he’s just a victim in all of this.
Adam Jones has to realize that he alone has the power to inspire change. Once that happens, everything else will fall into place. Otherwise, it’ll just be more of the same.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 2:29 pm
DbleD23: Hows that pool table and frig working out for you? You gotta be one of his friends or cohorts (or his mom).
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
It is absolutely Roger Goodell’s business what these guys do in their spare time. They are league employees and represent the NFL. Your employer can terminate you for stupid behavior even if its not illegal. The guy told the commissioner he is changing and then runs off to Vegas to party. This would normally not be a big deal except for the fact that the guy was involved in a shooting out there and has a penchant for hanging out in strip clubs. If he wasn’t such a moron and didn’t get into trouble at these places then this wouldn’t be such an issue.
The fact is he is still doing the same things he was doing. He just hasn’t assaulted any strippers or had someone shot recently. If you hang out with the wrong group and you continue to go to places where you get into trouble, you aren’t exactly sending the message that you are a changed man
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
It is so easy to spot the Cowboy fans comments. They are hypocritical apologist all of them. If Pacman Jones wasn’t a very good player or picked up by another team they would want him banned for life. Jerry picks Pacman up on the cheap and this worthless human being has become their savior. When you haven’t won a playoff game in twelve years Cowboy fans are willing to sell their souls. Fact is Pacman has an arrest record longer the Al Capone’s. A human being is in a will chair for life because of him. He beats and degrades women. He had the gall to go to a strip club before his meeting with Goodell last year. Fact is Jones since being traded to Dallas gambled and didn’t repay his depts. Fact is it was turned over to the Vegas D,A.. Fact is this loser hasn’t been able to stay out of trouble for more then 60 days at a time. Fact is Pacman is such a loose cannon Jerry Jones has a 24/7 security detail watching him. Fact is the commissioner can do what he sees fit in regards to Pacman.
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Rating: 3.9 / 5 with 12 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Pacman shouldn’t be reinstated solely based on his stupidity. The commisioner told him to clean up his act and stay out of trouble in order to regain an opportunity to make millions of dollars a year. He should have put himself on house arrest and hired the best security possible to make sure he doesn’t leave his house. Just another sign that he doesn’t get it.
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Rating: 4.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
samh, if you were working for a company and got into a legal mess, but no restrictions were put on your travel, aka probation terms, by the state itself, you would not have a problem with your employer telling you that you can’t travel to a specific city? Moreover, would it be legal for your company to fire or suspend you because you traveled to said city and failed to payback some money that you borrowed?
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I’m betting Pacman will be back. He may be a turd, but Jerry Jones is the main turd and holds the trump cards - he has millions of dollars and he is Roger’s employer.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 5:53 pm
igglescout:
Fact is, Philly schools obviously didn’t teach you how to spell wheelchair. Fact is, the gambling debt is from last year, before the trade to Dallas. You should really get your facts straight if you’re going to spout “fact is” repeatedly. Yes, Jerry does have someone watching Adam Jones to keep him out of trouble. That is smart. Jerry learned a long time ago that young men who become instant millionaires can get in trouble and need guidance sometimes. A system was set up to help them. So, we have T.O. helping our team now. Enjoy watching the ‘Boys in the playoffs this year while your iggles start an early vacation.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Why does Roger Goodell feel it is his place to police Pacman Jones’ every move. This is a free country and Pacman is free to go wherever he likes, so long as he does not break any laws. Roger Goodell really needs to start laying off here. Pacman’s house was forclosed because he hasn’t been working. Pacman has stayed out of legal trouble and needs to be given his ability to work back. This bordering harassment now. If now reinstated, I’d sue if I was Pacman Jones.
Also, I think this is a lame attempt by Florio to drum up some speculative Pacman news on an otherwise quiet Sunday (something Florio is doing more and more of when he is hard up for something to write). This is much ado about nothing because Pacman will get reinstated sometime this week.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Eaglescout,
1) not all cowboys fans like or even want pacman on the team, let alone in the nfl. I hate pacman, and it disgusts me that Dallas acquired his rights. I have NEVER been supportive of that trade, and I will never be supportive of him potentially playing for Dallas.
2) not all of us are hypocritical apologists, just as not all Philly fan’s are all drunken as$holes who threw snowballs and batteries at the guy dressed in the santa suit.
3) so Dallas hasn’t won a playoff game in a little over a decade. When was the last time the Eagles won a super bowl? don’t be bitter that T.O. cleaned up his act while he’s been with Dallas, but was a total jerk with Philly.
4) I agree, the commish can do whatever he wants in regards to pacman. I continue to hope that he will ban pacman for life, and that he will force Dallas to forfeit the 4th rounder they traded as part of punishing teams for players with discipline problems. I say that because I am sick of Dallas picking up douchebags and gambling with turning them around. It wrecks the nucleus of the team/locker room mentaily, and it reflects poorly upon the team.
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Rating: 3.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Even as a redskins fan I have to say this is a non issue. Until pacman is arrested/charged, he should be treated as such. An alcoholic doesn’t fall off the wagon just for going into a bar, he has to take a drink first.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Your right Cowboy fan I should not of lumped you all together. My bad.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 1st, 2008 at 11:52 pm
The effort to portray Pacman Jones as some kind of victim is hilarious.
Goodell never said players can’t travel to Las Vegas, or go to strip clubs, or party with their friends — show proof to the contrary, or that issue is settled.
Pacman lied to the commish, and has been arrested multiple times. Those are red flags for any employer.
And please explain how Pacman Jones has a “right” to work in the NFL??
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Rating: Not yet rated
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:39 am
Hold on, one more thing samh, have you ever read the constitution? Cause if I recall, there is something called the Bill of Rights that is in the constitution that protects personal rights. Before you call me a bozo, at least know what you’re talking about.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)