Adam Jones blasts reporter after being asked what he'd tell Bengals fans following ugly incident
Adam Jones backed up one ugly, foul-mouthed incident with another on Monday.
The Cincinnati Bengals corner was was accused in January this offseason of pushing a man and poking him in the eye, refusing to enter a police car and allegedly spitting on a nurse after he was taken to jail. Jones was seen on a police video at the scene telling the police officer, “I hope you die tomorrow.”
Monday was the first day that Bengals players reported to offseason activities, and and it appears that Jones once again couldn’t keep his mouth or anger in check. It was the first time Jones had spoken to the media since the Jan. 3 incident and it didn’t go well.
When asked about what he might tell the fans about his incident, Jones — after first thanking the Bengals for their help with the situation and then saying he was not going to talk about his impending court date — went off.
“Didn’t I just tell you don’t ask me that?” Jones said. “You out the [interview]. Turn around. Go back that way. See you. Next question. That’s his last interview for the year.”
Jones — who reportedly is taking anger management classes following his recent arrest — continued to berate the reporter who asked the question, even though he had walked away from Jones’ locker and was not in the vicinity. Jones continued to yell at the media member for several minutes, and head coach Marvin Lewis came in later to speak with Jones.
The Bengals declined to comment on Monday’s incident.
Bengals owner Mike Brown defended Jones last month after Jones’ felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance was dropped. Said Brown of sticking with Jones:
“You are dealing with people’s lives here. It’s easy to sit on high and say, ‘Oh, terrible, terrible. Let’s bring down the sword.’ I think that’s an overreaction. I’m not condoning his actions. They were in all honestly embarrassing. He was out of control. He misbehaved. He made a fool of himself. No one knows that more than he does. I don’t know that I have been perfect in my lifetime, either.”
We’re not talking about perfection here. It’s a matter humility. Jones might have gotten the most serious charge in his case dropped, and the Bengals appear to be backing him pretty fully here. But attacking a media member following such an incident never reflects well on a player, certainly not after a fairly innocuous question and with the person who asked it not even in the vicinity at the point where Jones chose to continue the argument.
Are the anger classes helping at all? Are the Bengals to blame for enabling Jones, for whom off-field trouble is not new? If almost having his football career stripped from him in 2007 following a man being paralyzed in an incident in a Las Vegas nightclub didn’t deter Jones from getting arrested and mouthing about it then and now, what will?
We suspect not much. And so far, the Bengals remain behind their troubled but talented player.
(h/t Dayton Daily News)
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
