Nice to hear that the
Tennessee Titans are planning to get rid of Crapman, er, Pacman Jones, although it should have happened already. Send the message to the team and the rest of the league that you will not tolerate horrendous behavior. You already made an example of
Albert Haynesworth for his on the field assault of Dallas o-lineman
Andre Gurode (at least Haynesworth is a decent guy). You need to hammer Jones too.
The Titans have all but guaranteed that it will happen at some point. You can't serve that one up, as Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt did over the weekend, unless you plan on delivering. The media will monitor this one every day until the guillotine is dropped. And we're not just talking the Nashville media. This is a national story. Trust me, when the media spotlight is on an NFL team in late February it can't be good. No one in the NFL is pleased with this story, save for maybe the
Cincinnati Bengals who, for the first time in months, are not the ones dominating the sheriff's blotter.
Douchebags like Jones have no business receiving the perks of a professional athlete, especially the salary that comes with it. He has abused his position. It was reported in the Tennessee papers that he has been questioned, named or arrested in connection with at least eight incidents involving police since being drafted by the Titans in 2005. I'm sure Dr. Phil would ask "is this working?" The answer is no, not by a long shot and he needs to be punished for his horrible actions. One time could be brushed off as a mistake. Two, really bad judgement by a young guy. Eight - it's time to go.
This is when collusion should be allowed in professional sports. When the Titans finally do give Jones the big haircut the other 31 teams should agree to freeze him out of the League. Unfortunately it won't happen. When players gobble up negative headlines like Pacman does they need to suffer the consequences. No more turning the other cheek. Remember these guys are supposed to be PROFESSIONAL athletes. There is nothing professional about this clown.
A majority of NFL players are good guys who do a lot in their communities. Then you get shitbags like Jones who, while "making it rain," provide severe black eyes for the rest of the league. The distractions these losers create for everyone associated with their organizations are simply not worth the limited contributions they make on the field. Imagine if the Titans do keep Jones what do his teammates think when they are continuously asked about the guy? Any transgression, on or off the field, will be scrutinized by the media which means players, coaches and PR guys will have to deal with the constant criticism. It's unfair to everyone involved.
But many GMs and Head Coaches in the NFL have egos large enough to photograph from space and believe that they can "save" these bad apples. By creating a new structure or putting the player in a locker room filled with veteran leaders they figure the bad seed will suddenly turn good. It has no chance of working. If the guy can't figure it out under the guidance of Jeff Fisher then it won't happen anywhere else. How many chances did Lawrence Phillips get before he blew up? Now he's in jail. Jones is on the same path and it won't change. He was bad news in college and has only gotten worse.
The Titans will do the right thing by eliminating Crapman, er, Pacman from their roster, although it should have been done by now. After the phenomenal
Vince Young catapulted this franchise back into the role of contender their entire focus should be on making the team even better through the draft and free agency. Instead Crapman Jones strikes again and forces some of the Titans, namely their GM and Head Coach, to shift their attention away from bolstering their roster.
Once they finish working through all angles with the League to try to lighten the financial hit, Tennessee will rid themselves of Crapman. Hopefully the rest of the league will flush him too. Not a moment too soon.