Willie Andrews has been released.
Of course. He's Willie Andrews.
Adam "Pacman" Jones has been given another chance.
Of course. He's Adam "Pacman" Jones.
In matters of discipline, talent doesn't speak. It bellows.
There's nothing new in all this. Seldom does honor trump pragmatism in the world of professional sports. Did I say "professional"? Make that sports, period. The late and truly great Abe Lemons was once asked why he didn't have a curfew for his Oklahoma City University basketball team.
" 'Cause you always catch the wrong guys," he explained.
Nothing ever changes. Talent is just too precious, and exceptions to the rule are very, very rare. Yes, Bear Bryant threw Joe Namath off the Alabama team for both the final regular- season game and the Orange Bowl during his junior year, citing "general misconduct." Go ahead. Give me another one at that level. And while you're pondering, keep in mind that the hallowed Tom Osborne did not toss that miscreant Lawrence Phillips off his squad prior to a big Nebraska bowl game.
If the allegations against Willie Andrews are true, then he absolutely, positively should have been released by the New England Patriots. Already in trouble for a postseason pot bust, he holds a gun against the head of a woman? That's not a wise career move if you are an expendable special teams player.
But if the transgressor had been any one of a dozen other Patriots players, is there any doubt the star would still be employed by the team? You'd be hearing a lot about how "we're gathering the facts," and how "the legal process has to play itself out." It's a little tougher call when you think you need that player.
Please, let us not lose sight of the Pacman Jones issue. He was a participant in a Las Vegas incident in which Tom Urbanski, a bouncer at the Minxx Gentleman's Club, was shot and permanently paralyzed from the waist down. During the course of the altercation, which began when Pacman and his buddies were "raining" money down on the dancers, Jones grabbed a dancer and punched her in the face before threatening another security man, saying, "I'm gonna [expletive] kill ya'; matter of fact, all yous are gonna get it."
You can read the details yourself. Google "Tom Urbanski" and you will have access to the "Declaration of Warrant/Summons" issued by the state of Nevada dealing with the incident. It's juicy bedside reading.
And, as you undoubtedly know, this was not an isolated incident in the life of Pacman Jones, who, in case you've lost track, is now in the employ of the Dallas Cowboys, where he has apparently found religion (what a shock).
