Oct 9, 2008 - 6:12 PM
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Jones was involved in an altercation with his bodyguard at a hotel in Irving, Texas late Tuesday night, according to a Dallas Police report.
A spokesman for the NFL confirmed to PA SportsTicker on Thursday that the league is probing the matter involving Jones, who was reinstated to the league in August after 16-month suspension for repeated violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy.
However, the Cowboys announced Thursday that they will not discipline Jones for Tuesday night's incident, when he was involved in a bathroom scuffle with his bodyguard, Tommy Jones.
Coach Wade Phillips said Jones will start in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the team's inaction Thursday afternoon, claiming the two men were joking before it got out of hand and escalated into a fight.
"There have been none of our rules impacted here," Jerry Jones said. "We don't have any rules (that were broken). We'd have to create a rule.
"It was banter. They were literally kidding each other ... and then it crossed the line."
Police said they received a call from the Joule hotel at about 11 p.m. Tuesday and that there was "a disturbance between two black males and a black female arguing and fighting at the location and that the suspects were in the lobby."
By the time police arrived at the scene, it was determined that the disturbance was over and that some hotel employees heard a scuffle in the men's restroom, police said. No witnesses came forward at that time to say an assault had occurred, although hotel management pointed out that a glass light switch plate had been broken.
Both men involved in the scuffle told police everything was "OK." One man was identified as Adam Jones and the other as his private bodyguard.
Police said the alleged victim, Tommy Jones, did not want to pursue any action against Adam Jones, calling it a private matter.
"I am disappointed. I'm very disappointed with having to deal with this," Jerry Jones said. "Before he joined the Cowboys, he built up a reservoir of doubt. He created, with his actions, no benefit of the doubt left."
Jerry Jones noted the irony that the matter involved a security person who was there to safeguard the controversial cornerback from such incidents.
"Candidly, it never occurred to me that could happen with an individual who was there to prevent this from happening," the owner said.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Jones was attending a party hosted by rapper Ludacris.
Jerry Jones said he gave his approval for the party, which he said was "private" and was to celebrate Adam Jones' birthday on September 30. However, he also said the player's reputation exaggerated the severity of the incident.
"If this had happened out where he lives, where they have cows and cattle, we wouldn't be sitting here," Jerry Jones said.
It is just the latest in a litany of off-the-field incidents for the 25-year-old cornerback, who was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in April 2007 while still a member of the Tennessee Titans.
Jones was reinstated by the league on August 26 - four months after the Cowboys acquired him in a trade with the Titans.
A history of legal problems - including six arrests - has plagued Jones since entering the league as a first-round draft choice in 2005.
"He had no room to wiggle. He's literally on a high wire without a net," Jerry Jones said. "Is this a reason for him not to be playing on a going-forward basis?
"This would be very unfortunate. It goes away from frustration because he has agreed to do everything I've asked him to do."
Since joining the Cowboys, Adam Jones had kept his nose clean until now. He has been a major contributor in the secondary, leading the club with 11 pass deflections.
Although Jerry Jones said his trust level in Adam Jones was not changed by the incident, he conceded the gravity of the situation and how it will be viewed by the league.
"I think they view it very seriously and I know that firsthand," the owner said.
