Adam Jones #24 of the Cincinnati Bengals in Cleveland, Ohio on October 1, 2017. Jason Miller /Getty Images/AFP
Washington, United States – Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones fought off an Atlanta airport employee who was charged with battery after starting an altercation with the NFL veteran, police said.
According to police, airport worker Frank Ragin “made a gesture at Jones” that launched an argument between the two near gate B6 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Tuesday night.
Ragin allegedly punched Jones, who pushed Ragin to the ground.
An incident report from the Atlanta Police Department determined Ragin to be the “primary aggressor.” He was charged with two counts of battery and taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Jones declined medical treatment, police said.
The player, 34, is currently a free agent after the Bengals declined to pick up the option on his contract this off-season.
He was suspended for the first game of the 2017 National Football League season after an altercation with a security guard at a Cincinnati hotel in January of that year. The league noted with displeasure “the tone, tenor and nature” of Jones’s hostile interactions with authorities at the time of his arrest.
Jones later apologized and pleaded guilty to obstructing official business.
That was one of a string of suspensions for off-field behavior, including a ban for the entire 2007 season after repeated run-ins with authorities. /kga