Yahoo! Sports: Adam Jones One Of Eight NFL Players To Be Suspended

by Josh Kirkendall on Sep 24, 2011 5:12 PM EDT in Legal/Off Field Issues

According to Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, Cedric Benson is one of eight players that the NFL and the NFL Players Association "agreed could be suspended under the league’s personal conduct policy for incidents during the NFL lockout." We've known about Benson with an appeal set for Tuesday to reverse a three-game suspension. Unfortunately Benson isn't the only Cincinnati Bengals player on this supposed agreement.

According to Cole, cornerback Adam Jones is another, due to his arrest during the lockout that

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined to discuss the matter and NFLPA spokesman George Atallah wrote in an e-mail, “I don’t believe any of those players received any discipline, correct?” Atallah did not answer when pressed about whether the NFLPA agreed to the eight.

So far, the league hasn’t announced suspensions for any of the players. However, Benson reportedly has been notified that he will be suspended for three games pending next week’s appeal.

Jones, currently on the Reserve/Physically Unable To Perform List and ineligible to play until after week six, was arrested during an early Sunday morning incident at a downtown bar in Cincinnati earlier this summer and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Jones, who claims doctors cleared his spinal injury last week, has a trial date set for November 17.

Besides Benson and Jones, the other six players that both sides agreed to suspend includes Aqib Talib, Kenny Britt, Albert Haynesworth, Clark Haggans, Brandon Underwood and Johnny Joly "specified in a letter from NFL attorney Jeff Pash to NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. At least four of those players were unaware the NFLPA agreed to the provision on their behalf."

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This is very confusing!

When the owners opted out of the collective bargaining agreement the players were no longer employees, they weren’t even a union. How this keeps being brought up with the NFL making no comments is baffling!

by ashunte23 on Sep 24, 2011 6:38 PM EDT reply actions

I am almost certain that the filing of the three game suspension agaisnt Benson this week

has to do w/ the Pryor situation. When the league found a way to uphold the Pryor suspension (which I imagine they will be announcing shortly), the league decided to go ahead and suspend some of these guys. Benson first, who’s next?

Change gone come mane! Trust me! Cause i Bleed tigerblood!--Jerome Simpson

by Grizzlyfox on Sep 24, 2011 6:41 PM EDT reply actions

there's a shocker

Adding to the storied collection of Bengals misfit toys.

by occams_tiger_teeth on Sep 24, 2011 6:44 PM EDT reply actions

time to get some lawyers and go after the nfl

not an employee during the lockout, the union didn’t exist. the 2 sides have no say over what happened.

" I for one, welcome our new Buffalo overlords. " - Whokebe

by palewook on Sep 24, 2011 6:54 PM EDT reply actions

how does talib shoot at people with his mom

And not get suspended?

by JCompton41 on Sep 24, 2011 7:00 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

nevermind.

Should do more than read the headline next time.

by JCompton41 on Sep 24, 2011 7:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

So between the PUP and suspension

Just how much of a season will Jones have anyway?

by IllinoisBengal on Sep 24, 2011 7:19 PM EDT reply actions

it seems there can be three ways that this is possible

1. under the conformity clause of the new collective bargaining agreement any off field conduct prior to august 4 can be subjected to the discipline of the commissioner

2. i really have no insight into terrel pryor’s situation, but if he got suspended then i am sure there is some legality for the suspension of jones and benson

3. the court trials benson and jones have gone through after the agreement was certified might be seen as effecting the integrity of the league, thus the commissioner has authority to suspend them

i am not a lawyer so what i just said might be 100 percent false. i just tried reading and interpreting the new collective agreement:

http://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/collective-bargaining-agreement-2011-2020.pdf

by LyotardFactory on Sep 24, 2011 7:36 PM EDT reply actions

As I stated in another post

I saw this coming but I think the NFL and the NFLPA may be on thin ice. They have been getting a pass from the federal court system in regards to the fact that they are the only game in town. The NFL is pressing the outer limits of their protections and the NFLPA is going to have serious issues agreeing to something of this sort without informing or involving the specific players.

Why were these guys chosen? Why is Rothlisberger not on this list? He has had as many legal troubles as the others. Why is Hines Ward not on this list? He got a DUI. The list could go on and on about how these guys were chosen over others. This stinks and if I was those select players I would file a lawsuit against both entities and file a complaint with the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board).

I will probably get hammered for asking, but where was Andrew Whitworth in all of this? He is the Bengals player rep.

by WOOD98 on Sep 25, 2011 12:55 AM EDT reply actions

I Just Don't See How This Would Hold Up In Court

If Benson sued, I think he would win. The NFLPA agreed to let the NFL punish 8 players who were repeat offenders with arrests during the lockout. But the NFLPA didn’t exist during the lockout, so how could they agree to anything regarding the time frame when they didn’t exist?

Follow me on Twitter @BonnieBengal

by BonnieBengal on Sep 25, 2011 1:19 AM EDT reply actions

PacMan as well.

Follow me on Twitter @BonnieBengal

by BonnieBengal on Sep 25, 2011 8:16 AM EDT up reply actions

This would be similar to giving a fine for something that happened during college

These players were not under any contract, or even employees at the time of these infractions. The NFL should have just let it go and move on. They have every right to sue.

Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson

by UpStateMike on Sep 25, 2011 8:15 AM EDT reply actions