Even though there wasn’t much action inside the ropes at the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight at AT&T Stadium, there was apparently a physical altercation outside the ring involving a former Dallas Cowboys player.
Pacman Jones, who in 2008 was tagged by owner Jerry Jones as the team’s “missing link”, was arrested at a local Arlington hotel after the fight. According to TMZ, Jones was hanging out at the fight with comedian Tom Segura.
While it’s not yet clear why Jones was arrested – there is a report claiming “public intoxication, resisting arrest, evading arrest and assault on a police officer” – a representative stated to TMZ Sports that Jones “adamantly denies the allegations and looks forward to explaining the truth when the time comes.”
“Like thousands of other people in Dallas last night, Pac was in town for the fight and was enjoying himself, spending time with the fans,” said Jones’ spokesman. “Pacman was returning to his hotel to wind down for the evening. He was not looking for trouble.”
Jones, of course, is no stranger to trouble. He was suspended multiple times throughout his NFL career for violating the leagues personal conduct policy. The most notable suspension came in 2007 when Jones was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. His arrest for involvement in a brawl at a Tennessee nightclub that led to a shooting led NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend him for the entire season.
In 2008 while a member of the Cowboys, he got into a fight with a security guard at the Joule Hotel in Dallas. The fight damaged a bathroom, and police were called at 1:30 AM. However, no one was arrested, no police report was filed, and no one was charged.
According to The Athletic, just after 1:00 a.m. Jones got into a fight in the bar area of the “Live! by Loews” hotel just across from AT&T Stadium. An Arlington police officer working an off-duty shift at the hotel was notified of the fight by hotel security and arrived at the scene to find Jones and the individuals involved separated, police said.
Merola reported that Jones then got involved in another altercation and walked away while an officer attempted to place him in handcuffs.
Jerry’s experiment to add Pacman to Dallas’ talented flopped as the 2008 Cowboys finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.