Former Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was arrested Monday morning at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, after allegedly causing a disturbance prior to takeoff.
Jones, 39, was "an unruly passenger" on a scheduled outbound flight, an airport spokesperson told the Enquirer, and airport police were called to assist the flight crew in detaining Jones ahead of takeoff. Jones was then booked into the nearby Boone County Detention Center on unspecified charges, according to jail records obtained by the Enquirer.
Jones was released later Monday and emphatically downplayed any wrongdoing while addressing reporters outside the jail.
"This s--- is getting old, brah," he said, insisting he was neither intoxicated nor making terroristic threats during the incident. "I'm a part of the media, too, but report the motherf---ing facts. Report the facts and stop reporting the bulls---."
The "facts," Jones argued, are that he was wrongfully removed from the flight for merely asking to change seats he had purchased.
"I paid for two seats myself," he said. "I had a conversation with a stewardess -- a man -- about the charger (not) working. 'Can you move me somewhere else?' It went from a whole thing, from moving me to, 'Oh, if we move you, we gotta stop the whole plane.' ... This is what ya'll want, though. ... I'm not kissing nobody a--. If I'm wrong, I'ma tell you I'm wrong. I'm wrong for telling the flight attendant that the charger is not working for the seat 'cause I need my iPad to work when I get to New York?"
Jones, who's been a regular analyst on "The Pat McAfee Show" since last year, returned to the Cincinnati area during the 2022 season as an honorary "Ruler of the Jungle" celebrity guest with the Bengals. He spent eight of his 13 seasons playing for the AFC North contender.
The one-time Pro Bowler, who notably had three consecutive seasons with at least three interceptions for the Bengals, is no stranger to off-field controversy. Originally drafted by the Titans, Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season after a string of early-career arrests, one of which stemmed from a Las Vegas shooting. He's also made headlines in retirement, pleading guilty in 2019 to charges related to an Indiana incident in which he allegedly threatened authorities, and in 2021 pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault.
