FORT WORTH, Texas — Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones once again must earn his way back into the NFL, and it likely will take more than being on his best behavior.
The NFL suspended Jones for at least four games Tuesday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine the full length of the suspension after the Cowboys’ game in Washington on Nov. 16.
“If he earns his way to a point that he can be considered to play again, then I would support that,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Frankly, just as he earned through his behavior the right to get back in and play a few weeks ago, he would have to earn that.”
The league said reinstatement will depend on strict compliance with treatment plans by the NFL and the Cowboys and an evaluation by “clinical experts.”
After repeated legal trouble while with the Titans, Adam Jones was traded six months ago to Dallas, where he had stayed out of trouble until an alcohol-related scuffle Oct. 7 with one of his bodyguards at a private party.
In a letter to Jones on Tuesday, Goodell cited a “disturbing pattern of behavior and clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL.”
The disturbance at an upscale Dallas hotel came only six weeks after Goodell reinstated Jones from a 17-month suspension.
Goodell said a lifetime ban remained a possibility.
