Adam Jones’ prosecutor wants NFL to make decision on punishment now

Bengals cornerback Adam Jones continues to wait and see what the outcome of his recent arrest will be.

On January 3rd, Jones was arrested for a variety of alleged crimes, including three misdemeanors and a felony. Jones is accused of beating on the door at a hotel in downtown Cincinnati while yelling and pushing and poking someone in the eye, and resisting arrest, among other charges.

Now, Local 12 News is reporting that prosecutors want the NFL to weigh in before making their next move. It’s an unprecedented move for the NFL to make a decision on punishing a player before the legal process has played out.

However, it sounds like prosecutor Joe Deters is asking for just that.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the cornerback's future rests with league officials. Deters said he wanted to know how, if at all, the National Football League planned to punish Jones.

Joe Deters spoke to Local 12 News about the case, "I want to know what the NFL is going to do. That's what I want to know. What is the normal, in a situation where you have Adam Jones, where he's had multiple offenses, has been suspended in the past, what is your normal course of action doing that? And is now in this condition, doing what he did the other night."

Deters indicated however he decides to proceed with potential legal punishments could depend on how harshly the league punishes Jones.

While it would be nice to have a fast ruling by the NFL for once, Deters probably won’t get what he wants. The NFL almost always takes months to complete investigations before handing discipline down, so asking them to make a ruling just weeks after Jones’ arrest, is hard to fathom.

Additionally, the NFL likes to let the legal process completely play out before making a ruling of their own. They’re not going to make a decision on punishing Jones until the courts have had their say.

But, the prosecutor does have some reasoning behind his decision that could benefit Jones.

"One of the factors that goes into my decision is what the NFL’s going to do to him,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "If he gets suspended for four games, he loses $2 million. We have drunken idiots every night over at the (jail) that don't get fined $2 million."

Is the prosecutor trying to be fair in considering the punishment that could come from the NFL and not wanting to doubly punish Jones? Maybe, or maybe not as the NFL’s punishment could be quite harsh without knowing all the facts and if the legal system finds him guilty.

“He has to face the reality that he behaved boorishly and foolishly,” Deters said. “There has to be a demonstration of trying to fix his behavior… In all these kinds of cases, factors include getting help and remorse – how genuinely sorry he is about it.”

Is Jones sorry for how he acted? We will likely find out soon.

For now, Jones is due back in court on Friday, January 13, but that could be changed if the prosecutor decides to wait out the NFL’s punishment decision.