Bengals owner, coach back 'Pacman' despite arrest
Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown defended cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones on Wednesday following his arrest on assault and disorderly conduct charges. Jones was apprehended in January following an altercation with a security guard at a Cincinnati hotel on a felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance plus misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business. A Cincinnati prosecutor dropped the felony charge last week and Jones' attorney said he will plead innocent to the other charges. "He knows full well what he has done to himself," Brown said at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. "He regrets it. But it has been made into a public issue and maybe I am overly tolerant. If so, so be it." Brown neither condoned nor condemned the 33-year-old defender's actions. "You are dealing with people's lives here," Brown said. "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. I probably did some things I wish I hadn't." Video of the incident showed Jones yelling profanities at police officers and telling them he wished they would die. Attorneys for Jones said he has apologized for his remarks and is seeing anger management counselors as a result of the incident. Jones turned violent when he was approached at the Downtown Millenium Hotel, allegedly head-butting and kicking at police officers who took him into custody as well as spitting on a jail nurse who attempted to provide him treatment. Jones, a 10-year NFL veteran, made 66 tackles, one interception, deflected seven passes and forced a fumble in 16 games for the Bengals last season. They went 6-9 with one drawn, their worst season since 2010. The Bengals have not won a playoff game since the 1990 season.
