Post by rainman on Jul 29, 2008 7:55:53 GMT -5
‘Pacman’ still on the field with Cowboys
OXNARD, Calif. — On the field, he is still “Pacman” — and embracing the nickname he seemed to be wanting to shed not so long ago.
That is what his new Dallas Cowboys teammates and coaches call Adam Jones at training camp. When fans chant the still-suspended cornerback’s name, they’re yelling “Pacman! Pacman!” And that is what his autograph reads, including the signature he penned on the backside of an infant.
He even introduced himself as “Pac” when meeting some visitors on the field before practice Monday.
“I’m not really shedding the nickname,” said Jones, who anticipates being fully reinstated to play this season for the Cowboys.
Amonth ago, though, Jones said he preferred to be called “Adam or Mr. Jones” instead of the nickname given him by his mother and how he’s been known his entire life. His explanation then was that there was “a lot of negativity” with that moniker and it was time for a change.
That declaration came after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cleared Jones to practice and he went through three weeks of workouts.
Asked what was different now in camp, Jones responded to reporters, “It’s just for y’all that I’m shedding the nickname. All my teammates call me Pacman. ... Y’all are not my teammates, y’all are not in the locker room and going through the trenches with me.”
But neither are the fans clamoring for his autograph on No. 21 jerseys, or the man who held up an infant and had Jones sign the back of the child’s outfit.
Regardless of what Jones is called — “I call him dummy if I want,” Tank Johnson said, laughing when asked which name was proper — off-field issues are what got Jones in trouble and suspended from the NFL last season while he was still with Tennessee. That is what had to change.
Jones was suspended in April 2007 following an accumulation of arrests and legal problems. He has been arrested six times and involved in a dozen incidents requiring police intervention since the Titans drafted him in the first round in 2005.
OXNARD, Calif. — On the field, he is still “Pacman” — and embracing the nickname he seemed to be wanting to shed not so long ago.
That is what his new Dallas Cowboys teammates and coaches call Adam Jones at training camp. When fans chant the still-suspended cornerback’s name, they’re yelling “Pacman! Pacman!” And that is what his autograph reads, including the signature he penned on the backside of an infant.
He even introduced himself as “Pac” when meeting some visitors on the field before practice Monday.
“I’m not really shedding the nickname,” said Jones, who anticipates being fully reinstated to play this season for the Cowboys.
Amonth ago, though, Jones said he preferred to be called “Adam or Mr. Jones” instead of the nickname given him by his mother and how he’s been known his entire life. His explanation then was that there was “a lot of negativity” with that moniker and it was time for a change.
That declaration came after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cleared Jones to practice and he went through three weeks of workouts.
Asked what was different now in camp, Jones responded to reporters, “It’s just for y’all that I’m shedding the nickname. All my teammates call me Pacman. ... Y’all are not my teammates, y’all are not in the locker room and going through the trenches with me.”
But neither are the fans clamoring for his autograph on No. 21 jerseys, or the man who held up an infant and had Jones sign the back of the child’s outfit.
Regardless of what Jones is called — “I call him dummy if I want,” Tank Johnson said, laughing when asked which name was proper — off-field issues are what got Jones in trouble and suspended from the NFL last season while he was still with Tennessee. That is what had to change.
Jones was suspended in April 2007 following an accumulation of arrests and legal problems. He has been arrested six times and involved in a dozen incidents requiring police intervention since the Titans drafted him in the first round in 2005.
