Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Goodell fines, suspends Jones, Henry

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

The punishment was aimed squarely at Adam “Pacman” Jones and Chris Henry. The message went far beyond them, to all NFL players.

In suspending Jones for the 2007 season and Henry for eight games, commissioner Roger Goodell not only cracked down on two of the league’s most troublesome players on Tuesday, he also sent a warning to everyone:

Mess with the law and your job’s on the line.

“I must emphasize to you that this is your last opportunity to salvage your NFL career,” Goodell wrote the two players, emphasizing they must end their wayward behavior to have a chance to play in the league again.

He also hit them where it hurts – their wallets. Jones, who plays for Tennessee, will forfeit his $1,292,500 salary; Henry, who plays for Cincinnati, will lose $217,500.

Jones and Henry, former teammates at West Virginia, were suspended under the old disciplinary policy.

Goodell also announced the league’s new, tougher personal conduct policy that will allow longer fines and suspensions for players and also could penalize teams, perhaps by taking away draft picks.

Stingley remembered

Darryl Stingley, paralyzed by one of the most infamous hits in the history of professional football, was remembered at a funeral service in Forest Park, Ill., for the grace with which he accepted his life-altering injury.

“For almost 30 years, people wanted to hear Darryl curse God or at least curse the man who took his dreams away,” said the Rev. Edward C. Brown, Stingley’s cousin.

“Darryl was a good man. He didn’t stop serving God just because he had a life of suffering and pain. … He lived a life focused on the future and not on the past.”

Stingley, a star receiver with the New England Patriots, was left a quadriplegic after a hit by the Oakland Raiders’ Jack Tatum while trying to catch a pass in an exhibition game on Aug. 12, 1978. Stingley’s neck was broken, and he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

He died last Thursday at age 55.

Hall of Famer Irvin sued

Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin is being sued by a contractor who claims the former Dallas Cowboys star receiver grabbed his arm and injured him during a dispute over a $2,800 payment.

Shawn Vandergrift was hired to install a fountain at Irvin’s Plano, Texas, home. He is seeking unspecified damages stemming from the December argument, according to court records.

Irvin told The Dallas Morning News the allegations were “blackmail.”

Around the league

The Green Bay Packers signed Nick Barnett to a contract extension, assuring the middle linebacker will not become a free agent after next season. Terms were not disclosed. … Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was arrested for investigation of drunken driving after a trooper stopped him in Kirkland, Wash., for allegedly speeding.