@PsycheE: And his mom had obviously never heard of the real Pac-Man when she gave him that nickname.

wtf is a "Pac-Man" anyway? There's nothing about nibbling and suckling that suggests naming someone "Pac-Man", other than the game. And the name of the game was more or less a mistake.

badasscat

To Pacmans defense he thought those stippers were hiding cherries in their g-strings.

GHETTO.CHiLD

Pacman Jones, the dude who loves to falsely "make it rain," resulting in stripper drama and stabbings wherever he goes. -- Gotta love 'em.

DugDawg

@Bort617: It's not that I have a problem with wanting to police the game, but it's very tricky to levy punishments on an arbitrary basis. There are no bylaws in the collective bargaining agreement for punishments for embarassing the NFL with stupid although not CRIMINAL behavior-- because remember, Jones is INNOCENT until he's proven guilty-- but there are bylaws in the CBA for substance abuse and cheating. If the NFLPA agrees to terms outlining just punishments for unseemly behavior, then I'll be totally cool with it. But I'm not at all OK with Goodell having the power to arbitrarily decide, no.

@zanzibarlegend: Perhaps they will, my friend. I'm not sure it's real sporting though, is it? Cheers!

wild homes and gardens

@wild homes and gardens: Why should it be about the actual justice system? It's about the NFL's image. The NFL was perceived as having dirty players, so when Goodell took over, he wanted to clean it up. Showing that the league will take action against players such as The-Player-Formerly-Known-As-Pacman is an important part of that. Are you suggesting that employers shouldn't be allowed to impose sanctions on their employees beyond those prescribed by the justice system?

I have no problem with how Goodell handled this. Spygate, on the other hand...

Bort617

@wild homes and gardens: hey, antime he runs the ball well on a return, or gets a pick, they can play that song over the sound system...

zanzibarlegend

@Mikazukinoyaiba: "Did it suggest he was a ballhog?"
omfg i almost fell outta my chair when i reda that. basically he is saying that the nickname has a notoriety to it. the shoot out and all that nonsense, he wants to be shed of that. i hope i didnt write this for nothing, my sarcsasm detector is low on batt.

zanzibarlegend

@Ashkihyena: Not to mention, the Counting Crows are going to be pissed.

wild homes and gardens

Sean Penn didn't want to be called Pacman either at the end of that movie 'Colors' if I remember correctly.
That's all I have.

CheechWizz

Or how about MIKE JOOOOOOOOOOONESSSSSSSS!

ichiban1081

I'm getting flashbacks to that spaceman who had too many anxiety pills...

Hopanoe

@Pezdispenser: Power pellets can do that, man. I know, I know, it's alright. Cheer up, big fella.

Ruglia

"My mom is going to call me 'Pacman.' That is what it is. I can't change that," Jones said. "I'm not saying that my teammates won't call me 'Pacman' on the field. But for the most part, I want to be Adam or Mr. Jones."

Harrison Ford is not going to be happy.

Ashkihyena

Woah woah woah, wait a sec. Not real? So all of those previous birthday parties where he showed up were a lie? You just ruined Christmas!

*runs away crying*

Pezdispenser

Don't worry, Fahey, Pac-Man is real. Every time you pop a pill and chase "ghosts" throughout your house, the spirit of the Pac is within you.

And when you wake up the next morning buck naked in an alley with "I am the Lobster Queen" tattooed on your forehead, the spirit of the Pac will drive you to the detox clinic.

ShaggE

He's trying to talk his way back into the league. We'll see if it works. But the death last week of the woman involved in his Vegas debacle really doesn't help-- especially as Goodell's new 'Clean NFL' policy has nothing at all to do with the actual justice system and everything to do with how Roger Goodell perceives justice.

Oh well.

And Fahey, this article was good, but the Hendrix statue one was the funniest I've ever seen you write. That one had me laughing to tears.

wild homes and gardens

But you do realize the way he got his nickname has nothing to do with the game itself. His mom gave it to him because he was nibbling and sucking away at the bottle in gargantuous numbers.

Of course, who wouldn't want to change their name after his fiasco; quite sad really, one of the best return specialist.

PsycheE

So apparently it was the nick-name, Pac-Man, who shot all of those people and not "Mr. Jones..."

Mommar

We tried to reach the actual Pac-Man for comment on the situation but were informed by Mrs. Pac-Man on Pac-Man views on it is "Wakka, Wakka".

Mr.DuckSauce

He shot someone or what?

Winterbringer

First time I even heard of this guy (i'm obviously not into sports) but uh... what was so negative about the nickname "Pac-Man"? Did it suggest he was a ballhog?

Also that stuff about a gunfight in a strip club and getting a former pro wrestler paralyzed, I laughed and then realized you were being serious.

Then I giggled.

Mikazukinoyaiba

Funniest article you've written, Fahey. Love the headline.

Zombie_Crunch

Maybe his quiting power pills?

Shiryu

And CliffyB doesn't want to be called CliffyB anymore, but... the Cliffster (or maybe thats just what the employees in the Ivory tower of Kotaku call him), but nay, I will not be swayed by his cries to not be called CliffyB.

Salen

@ichiban1081: Who?

WolFEnsTeiN68

@GhaleonUnlimited:

You know, I was going to post exactly that! But I'm new here, and wasn't sure if that type of thing was frowned upon. Now I know -- obsessive copy editing is okay!

Bort617

So who was the other player 44 years ago to be suspended for a season due to an incident at a Las Vegas strip club that led to shots being fired and former pro wrestler Tommy Urbanski paralyzed from the waist down?

GhaleonUnlimited

I will just miss Chris Berman's "Nohmp Nohmp Nohmp Nohmp" calls during the highlights of a Pacman Jones interception.

EndwaterAngry

"The 24-year old Atlanta native and first NFL player in 44 years to be suspended for a season due to an incident at a Las Vegas strip club that led to shots being fired and left former pro-wrestler Tommy Urbanski paralyzed from the waist down."

Man, what do NFL players have against Tommy Urbanski? And how old is the dude anyway? Every 44 years he gets shot and paralyzed. Talk about horrid luck.

Skunky

@Chesu:

He plays for the Dallas Cowboys now. Since the event is likely being held in Dallas, I'm sure there are a lot of Cowboys there, perhaps even a few Stars.

Guerrilla mason

Wait, wait, waitwaitwait. At the beginning of the post you call him an NFL player, at the end of the post you say he spoke at a basketball camp. Am I he only one who thinks that's a little... odd?

Chesu

Wow....a sports figure taking some kind of semi-responsibility for his past actions. Nothing much, but thats a nice direction to head in.

Mal-Content

@ichiban1081: Oh no, not that again. I'm fine with my name. The last thing I need is to called the same name as a raper who only knows his own name and disappeared as quietly as came.

KM91

@Americo: Err... I care. As a sports fan and a video game fan, I find these intersections interesting.

Bort617

There should be a "no one cares" tag so we can neatly file this story in there with all Guitar Hero stories.

Americo

Pac-Man isn't real? Stop the presses!(I've always wanted to say that.)

shak_0

@wild homes and gardens: Well, I'm OK with what Goodell is doing. I'm pretty sure that if I had repeat run-ins with the law on the scale that Pacman Jones has that my employer would get tough with me at some point. It's not like they're just coming out of the woodwork to punish him. The guy's received fair warning that he needs to quit with the jackassery or else.

Dirk Dorkelson

Everybody knows that when Pac Men arent't eating ghosts and power pellets, they unwind with a little tittay-action at the strip club. What's the big deal?

mirage

God dammit I hate you Pacman Jones, why the hell would TNA wrestling ever hire this idiot in the first place to be a tag team champion if he wasn't allowed to wrestle? Because there fucking idiots

excel_excel

Anybody heard about the Imus thing? Disgusting.

Cyanotic

I don't know how good of an NFL player he is,but he's a shitty assasin. I specifically asked that he shoot John Cena,not whoever this "Tommy" guy is!

kidnicky

@Americo:

Here's the thing, if you don't care about a story, use that thing in the middle of your mouse, it's called a "scroller", and you'll never see the story again. Easy huh?

jello44

Pacman, there is only one Mr. Jones, Tom Jones.

stinkweed

He changed his name because he's got too much baggage associated with it. He's basically a person who can't keep out of trouble and now he's trying to pretend he's not himself any more. Once he pollutes his Adam Jones personna, he'll likely move back into "pacman" again.

mariospants

At least Manny Pacquiao has "pac" in his name =0/
Where does he get off using that name in the first place? I could understand if it had something to do with how his name sounds or if he was yellow, but it doesnt, and he is not.

thisisasignin