Pacman Jones and Chris Henry suspended

Pacman Jones banned for season
BY BOB GLAUBER-Newsday


NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a decisive message to players who misbehave off the field: Don't expect to be playing much football.

The first-year commissioner this afternoon announced that he has suspended Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season. In addition, Goodell announced that Bengals receiver Chris Henry, another player with several off-field problems, will be suspended for the first eight games of the season.

Jones has been questioned 10 times during his NFL career for a variety of transgressions, and was involved in a fight that led to a shooting in a Las Vegas strip club in February.

"We must protect the integrity of the NFL," Goodell said in a statement. "The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis."

In a letter to each player, Commissioner Goodell wrote: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction."

Goodell added in his letter to both players: "I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career. I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you in that effort."