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Is Pacman's $35K fine enough?

Posted at 2:13 PM, Sep 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-16 14:13:14-04

CINCINNATI -- Adam 'Pacman' Jones isn't a stranger to controversy -- or its resulting spotlight. Over the span of his 10-year career, the cornerback has been suspended, cited, accused and arrested for offenses from disorderly conduct to assault.

On Wednesday, Jones announced on Instagram that he got a letter from the league informing him of a $35,000 fine after he ripped Raiders rookie Amari Cooper's helmet off and slammed his head into the helmet during Sunday's game at Oakland.

 

Lmao

A video posted by @realpacman24 on

 

Jones has played for the Bengals since 2010, but also played for the Cowboys and Titans in his first five years in the league. He makes an average of $1,783,333 annually under his current contract with the Bengals.

 

 

Even with the new of Jones' fine, some are still calling for his suspension from the league.

Obviously, the opinion with the most weight is that of the NFL, whose stance was revealed on Tuesday by NFL.com writer Ian Rapoport, following ESPN reporting that Jones would likely not be suspended.

 

 

Football analysts, sports personalities and fans are weighing in on Jones' punishment.

Ed Werder of ESPN called the move to fine but not suspend Jones "rational", because Cooper was not injured. But Werder's colleague (sort of) ESPN writer Kevin Seifert didn't share the sentiment.

 

 

Other sports journalists weighed in, too, but with a tinge of playfulness.

 

 

But -- at a huge surprise to probably no one -- fans proved to be the most passionate and outraged over Jones' move and the NFL's decision not to suspend.

 

Jones didn't shy away from social media amidst the controversy. He posted a video on Instagram with the caption "Lmao !! I love the game of football sorry if you mad or if you think I play with a chip on my shoulders !!! Look at the film"

 

He also responded to a few Tweets calling for his suspension and appeared humored by the attention.

 

 

Cooper expressed some disappointment after the game and the resulting loss of his NFL debut over Twitter.

 

 

He also told ESPN that he didn't take it personally and "it's football."

 

 

Even though they were the vocal minority (at least on social media), locals did throw a bone Pacman's way.

 

 

Maybe their support is evidence of Cincinnati sports fans' notoriously fierce loyalty to local teams. Or maybe these local fans remember a time when Jones was cited for acting disorderly and driving drunk or arrested for assaulting a woman at a downtown nightclub. Whatever the case, they're sticking with their Pacman.