Titans obtain restraining order to prevent Pacman Jones from wrestling

By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine

The Tennessee Titans obtained a restraining order Friday to prevent Adam "Pacman" Jones from participating in Sunday's Total Nonstop Action PPV event in Orlando, Fla.

"Today we filed a motion in Williamson County asking for a court order preventing Jones from participating in any wrestling activity," the team said in a statement. "All NFL players have language in their contracts that prohibit them from engaging in activities which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. We certainly believe wrestling to be hazardous and it is obvious from the player's conduct that he is ignoring this aspect of his agreements with the club. As an organization, we feel it is our obligation to protect our rights in this instance."

The Titans acted quickly because they believed Jones would be wrestling on Sunday but he was only scheduled for an “angle” that would have led to a match in the coming months.

Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season on April 10 by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for numerous run-ins with the law in just two NFL seasons,including some type of alleged involvement in a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the NBA's All-Star weekend in February. That incident left an employee of the club, ironically a former pro wrestler, paralyzed from the waist down.

Since entering the NFL, Jones has been questioned by police on over 10 occasions and been arrested five times.

The TNA wrestling promotion is based in Nashville and is owned by Panda Energy but is a distant second in a realm ruled by World Wrestling Entertainment. The company is run by Dixie Carter and longtime pro wrestler Jeff Jarrett.

The signing of Jones is an effort to garner publicity for a fringe company in an industry already stained by implications of steroid and other drug use after the highly-publicized Chris Benoit murder-suicide case.

Jones joins an impressive list of NFL players who have made the jump from the football field to the wrestling ring, including Bronko Nagurski, Leo Nomellini, Bill Goldberg, Steve McMichael, Wahoo McDaniel, Ernie ‘The Big Cat’ Ladd and former Eagles great Reggie White.