The Out Route

Bemoan Pacman Jones all you want. You can point the finger and judge (that's probably the Christian in you), and you can call him whatever pleases you -- "thug," "gangster," and "poo-breath" are all fair game. Obviously, strip club shootings are bad things (anything that disrupts a flow of naked women -- guns frighten strippers about as much as novels do -- is criminal). But are you all such Debbie Downers that you can't see the greatness of Jones, the heroicism? Much like Christ, Pacman is suffering for our benefit. He will miss an entire year's worth of pay so that the phrase "make it rain" could enter the public consciousness. And all it took was the loss of feeling in one guy's legs! And they're not even your legs, so what do you care? (Unless you're actually the guy who got paralyzed in that shooting, in which case, sorry dude. Tough break.) That's a great thing.

But the courts apparently don't consider great contributions to the lexicon when they file charges, as Pacman is being charged with two counts of felony coercion. Jones, who was slapped with a year-long ban from Roger "Suspend first and ask questions later" Goodell, was hoping to play this year after an early reinstatement due to good behavior. I think he should focus more on resisting the urge to order open fire in court, instead.

I'm not going to soapbox about what happened -- to read one million columns all saying the same thing on the subject, hit up them Googles. Pac is already done for the year. And depending on when trial dates are set, it could effect his status next year too. As a prime cornerback and incredible punt returner, the loss of Jones hurts. But the Titans knew all about Jones when they drafted him, so sympathy isn't necessary.

Michael Vick, you're on notice.