CINCINNATI - Bengals owner Mike Brown says he supports Adam Jones and indicated the veteran cornerback remains in good standing with the team pending possible disciplinary action from the NFL.
“Maybe I am overly tolerant. If so, so be it," Brown told the Enquirer Wednesday.
Later in the day, Jones thanked the Bengals for their "support and love."
Brown said he sees the good side of Jones as a loving, caring father to his 5-year-old daughter and that carries more weight with him than Jones’ recent blowup with police or his past run-ins and indiscretions.
"I see Adam Jones through my own eyes. I see different facets of his personality. I see him as a person who is energetic, lively, positive for the most part, exceptionally so. I know a little bit about his family, that weighs in my mind,” Brown said.
“It’s a bigger picture than one incident … So I have chosen to decide it the way I am deciding it. I’m going to give him a chance. I hope it comes out right for him, for his family and for us."
Brown said he's not condoning Adams' actions during the night of his most recent arrest Jan. 3.
"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,” Brown said.
“He didn’t hurt anybody physically. He just hurt himself by how he comported himself. In some ways, that’s punishment enough right there."
Jones followed Brown’s comments in a tweet Wednesday, saying:
“There are no words to express what it truly means to me to be a part of a family that’s has giving me & my family so much support and love. I truly don’t take it for granted & I vow to continue to order my steps & continue tyo give you all the best of me.
#bengals #blessed pic.twitter.com/KwjBR0V2h5
— ADAm Pacman Jones (@REALPACMAN24) March 29, 2017
Jones added the hashtags #bengals #blessed.
Jones's latest run-in with the law happened after reports of a confrontation with a security guard at the Millennium Hotel in Downtown. A dashboard camera inside the police car that took Jones to jail captured Jones unleashing a torrent of verbal abuse on the arresting officer.
"I hope you die tomorrow," was one of Jones' outbursts.
Later, security footage released by the Sheriff’s Office shows Jones lunging at a group of Hamilton County jailers (at about 00:30 in the video below) and the moment when he was reported to have spat on a nurse during intake (at about 4:30).
Watch the video (which has no sound) below:
The video doesn’t show the reported spitting because a deputy walks in front of Jones at the moment the incident is thought to have occurred. The deputies around Jones put him in a restraint chair and put a surgical-style mask over his mouth after he makes a sudden movement in the nurse’s direction.
Jones could have faced a felony assault charge for spitting on the woman, but Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters decided against it.
Jones still faces misdemeanor counts of assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business, Brown noted. Jones completed alcohol and anger management-related treatment following his arrest, Deters said.
Jones could face another season-long suspension from the NFL. But Brown said he hopes the league and the court will absolve Jones.
"I hope it ends up that he gets his life back, and he has openly apologized," Brown said. "He knows full well what he has done to himself. He regrets it.”
