I was relieved to find out that my Jacksonville Jaguars cut ties with WR Matt Jones earlier this week after he was sent to jail for violating his plea deal. They should have cut him last year when he was arrested on cocaine possession charges in the first place, but I'll accept that they gave him a second chance. Clearly, however, that second chance was not appreciated by Jones.
Sure it seems frivolous to cut one of the most talented wide recievers on your roster for drinking beer with his friends on a golf course, but the situation with Jones is so much bigger than that. He clearly has a substance abuse problem (not a good thing for anyone, let alone a professional athlete) and what's worse, he didn't take the situation seriously enough to obey the orders of the plea deal that kept him out of jail in the first place.
I understand that athletes are just human beings like us. They make mistakes, especially the young ones with truckloads of money and the aura of power that being a top-notch athlete creates, but the regulations of their job shouldn't be any different than any other job. If Bob the Accountant went to jail for a week because he violated his parole, do you think his company would let him take vacation time and return to work like nothing happened? Hell no. Bob would be on the street with so many other Americans out of the job right now.
Matt Jones needs to show some appreciation for the fact that he has a skill that can provide for him and his family as long as he lives. He'll get a chance with another team, and maybe this time, he'll keep it between the lines. But I'm glad that team won't be the Jaguars.
Adios Matt. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out.
- Shan
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