"No," Jones said when asked if he was involved in the shooting in any way in an interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
Jones
The Dallas Cowboys released Jones on Wednesday after a turbulent season in which he was suspended six games for an off-field scuffle and made a relatively small impact on the field. In another interview conducted Satuday, this one with CBS' NFL pregame show, Jones hinted that his days with the Cowboys aren't necessarily over.His release came after "Outside the Lines" reporter John Barr contacted the NFL, the Cowboys and Jones' attorneys about the piece scheduled to air Sunday in which three Atlanta-area men allege that Jones arranged for someone to shoot at them two months after the football player was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2007.
The June 2007 shooting occurred outside a suburban Atlanta strip club. One of the shooting victims told "Outside the Lines" that he had a dispute with Jones inside the strip club and that not long after he and the two others left the club, a hail of bullets struck their car. The NFL knew about the incident, but charges were never brought against anyone because the victims did not see the shooter.
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2006 Highlight: Adam Jones returns a punt 90 yards for a touchdown. In 2006, he had four touchdowns and four interceptions. This season, Jones had almost no impact on the field with no touchdown or interceptions in nine games.
"Outside the Lines" obtained information that police, investigating a separate Atlanta-area case, had been told by an informant that Jones ordered the June 2007 shooting following his dispute with one of the men. Police have said that while the case remains open, they are not actively investigating.
"That's old news, man," Jones told Smith in an interview in Los Angeles on Saturday. "I'm saying I already explained this stuff. The commissioner knew about it. The Cowboys knew about it. I've done everything they asked me to do since then. I served my suspension for going to the strip club since then."
Smith asked Jones if he was in the club.
"Yeah, I did go to the strip club which I shouldn't have been in," Jones said. "Which I haven't been in since then. But it's still the past. Ain't no use me keep dwelling on the past. Now, as far as you want to talk about have I been to the strip club these last 8, 10, 12, 15, 16 months, no, I haven't."
Jones' lawyer, Robert Langford, cut off Smith when he asked for specifics of the case.
Jones said that his threat of a lawsuit against ESPN, which he voiced Wednesday after he was cut by the Cowboys, remains.
"... it takes a couple of weeks for a lawsuit, so it'll take time to get the paperwork and all that kind of stuff in order," he said. "But it's going to be some paperwork. Some people are going to have to answer."
On the CBS NFL pregame show, Jones said he expects to play in the NFL again and "I think I might be back in Dallas."
CBS host James Brown then asked: "And you have an inkling that Jerry Jones will give you another shot?"
Jones grinned and said, "Yeah, I do," but didn't offer any details to back his assertion.
Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the team had no comment.
"What I'm saying is, it's not the end of the day," Jones told Smith. "I will play football in the NFL again. I will be on somebody's team next year, again."
The Cowboys traded for Jones despite the cornerback's suspension for the 2007 season after multiple incidents while with the Tennessee Titans. On Oct. 7, 2008, Jones got into a scuffle with a bodyguard who was part of a team-employed security detail.
The 25-year-old Jones spent part of his time away from football taking part in an alcohol rehabilitation program. He said he continues to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Dallas and insisted his troubles were behind him, blaming alcohol for putting him in some bad positions.
"I've always been a family man, anybody that know me," he said. "But I don't kick it with the same crowd I used to kick it with. I'm more chilled to myself and I'm most of the time I'm relaxing instead of, you know what I mean, going out with the boys. And I'm probably at the lake fishing or something like that."
Jones also told Smith he thinks he is still a viable NFL defensive back.
"Was it the same Pacman who played for Tennessee? No, it wasn't," he told Smith. "Out a whole year. No excuses. But what I'm saying is on that field I'm still one of the best that's playing football."
Jones also said he's a good teammate. "I faced everything I had to face, man to man, face to face," he told Smith. "I've addressed all my problems. And in that locker room, it don't get no better as a teammate and somebody who is going to go into the trenches with you. It don't get no better."
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