Reports: Pacman gets in fight with bodyguard at Dallas hotel
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones got into a fight with one of his security guards at a downtown Dallas hotel on Wednesday morning, several media outlets are reporting.
Dallas' CBS affiliate, Channel 11, first reported Wednesday that Jones was involved in an altercation at the Joule Hotel in Dallas, damaging a bathroom.
Dallas Deputy Chief Vince Golbeck told the Dallas Morning News police were called to the scene at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Chief Golbeck told the News he thought Jones was staying at the hotel and may have been drinking.
There was no police report filed regarding the incident.
Worrick Robinson, Jones' attorney, told ESPN's Ed Werder that he had a conversation with Jones on Wednesday about the alleged incident.
"I'm not satisfied anything has happened,'' Robinson said. "I perform due diligence on rumors anytime there is an allegation made against a player I represent, and at this point I can tell you that I'm not satisfied that anything occurred.''
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello had no comment. The Dallas Cowboys said they had no information about the incident and also had no comment.
A source told ESPN that NFL Security has been notified and is investigating.
It was apparently a coincidence that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell visited Cowboys players at their Valley Ranch training complex Wednesday. Goodell suspended Jones from the league for the entire 2007 season for violating the NFL player conduct policy after he was arrested six times in his first three NFL seasons.
The Cowboys acquired him from the Tennessee Titans in a historic trade in April. Jones became the first player in NFL history to be traded while serving a suspension.
The expectation is that Jones is likely to be called to New York to explain his conduct to Goodell, a source close to the player said. Jones' reinstatement is contingent upon his ability to conduct himself appropriately.
Deion Sanders, who has acted as a mentor for Adam Jones since his arrival in Dallas, was also at Valley Ranch on Wednesday, ESPN.com's Matt Mosley reported.
Compounding the potential consequences for the Cowboys is that Jones has been starting at left cornerback for Pro Bowler Terence Newman, who is attempting to confirm a preliminary diagnosis of a sports hernia injury that could sideline him for a minimum of six weeks if surgery is required.
In a sitdown interview with ESPN just before the start of the NFL season, Jones explained his decision to provide Jones with a four-man security detail at the team's expense.
"We have in place a staff here that really is good at monitoring what our players do," the Cowboys owner said. "Now I say this at the risk of knowing that in the next minute or in the morning I could get a phone call. ...When you're dealing with the numbers of people that we're dealing with and get some news that isn't too savory. On the other hand, this does call for an awareness on the part of any player that he is being monitored and the reputation of our team is at stake."
In his two decades of owning the Cowboys, Jones has established a reputation for taking risks on players who fit a specific profile. Jones says they must have a uniquely big work ethic, an intensely competitive personality and no history of substance abuse.
Before completing the trade, Jerry Jones told ESPN he sent investigators to Tennessee to research every incident in which Adam had been accused of wrongdoing and was so thorough in his background check that he and an assistant personally looked into every person to whom Jones wrote a personal check to determine the quality of people with whom he was associating.
Jerry Jones said he specifically informed Adam Jones he had lost most of his benefit of the doubt and underscored the privilege of playing in the NFL and wearing the Cowboys uniform.
"When we do have a player come to the Dallas Cowboys," Jones said, "I really do expect him to understand that, 'Look you've stepped on some bright lines you may even have gone over them certainly, and we've got to really get it back in the middle because all your benefit of the doubt is gone.'"
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