Dave Butz, the agent for Jaguars receiver Matt Jones, issued a statement on Tuesday regarding the events that resulted in Jones being placed in jail on $150,000 bond.
“Many of the reports surrounding [Monday] are extremely inaccurate,” Butz tells Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. “First, Matt was not charged with possession of any controlled substance. The judge went on the record [Monday] saying that Matt has been respectful and very compliant throughout his time in the program.
“The only issue [Monday] is that Matt admitted to the court that he drank a couple of beers while playing golf last week with a friend. I had a very positive conversation with the prosecuting attorney this evening in which she was adamant that ‘this is not a new charge.’
“According to the prosecutor, ‘in light of how well Matt has been doing in our program and the fact that he was honest with the court, it is really not a big deal.’ She also stated that she has no doubt that Matt ‘will successfully finish the program.’”
To the extent that Butz claims “[m]any of the reports” are “[e]xtremely inaccurate,” it’s a direct result of the manner in which the incident was reported on the Washington County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Department web site.
The web site initially said that Jones was jailed for possession of a controlled substance. The link has since been changed to the more accurate charge of “contempt of court.”
And before Butz starts complaining about the characterization of Jones’ unfortunate incarceration, let’s be clear on what Jones did.
He ducked serious felony cocaine possession charges by agreeing to enter into a diversion program that requires him to avoid all controlled substances, and alcohol.
Most if not all probation arrangements require the person avoiding prison to refrain from drinking alcohol. Why? Because once people start boozing, their judgment becomes impaired and they start doing stupid stuff — like taking cocaine.
And while Butz makes it sound as if Jones came clean on his own about the fact that he was drinking and golfing, other reports indicate that he was subject to a random alcohol test as part of the diversion program. So, basically, Jones knew that he was busted.
Frankly, the relative speed with which alcohol exits the system suggests that this might not have been the first time that Jones was drinking in violation of the terms of his diversion program. Instead, it’s only the first time that he was caught.
So Jones is hardly the victim here. His freedom hinged on his ability and willingness to comply with the rules created by the court, and he didn’t. His current predicament is no one’s fault but his own.
MATT JONES' AGENT ADDRESSES ARREST
Posted by Mike Florio on March 10, 2009, 9:42 PM EDT
22 Responses to “MATT JONES' AGENT ADDRESSES ARREST”
hahhaa his name is Dave BUTZ! that’s funny. BUTZ!
If drinking while golfing is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Florio’s a scrub, grow a few inches then you can run your mouth Napoleon
FYI, you can test for the enzymes that process alcohol in the liver for up to a week or more after a person drinks. It’s called an extended alcohol screening, if you have a few beers the enzymes will be in your system for a day or two, if you do some serious binge drinking it is possible that the enzymes will still be present up to two weeks later.
Also, the diversion programs usually have random testing so Jones decided to roll the dice that he wouldn’t be tested (he’d probably been tested the week before).
I work in the field and this is a pretty common occurance although still a pretty stupid thing for him to do. It’s also a pretty good indicator that he may have a serious drug and alcohol problem if he was willing to risk going to jail just so he could have a few drinks. A normal person wouldn’t have any problem skipping the mild benefits of drinking some beers to avoid serious jail time.
Beer is not a gateway drug. MJ has issues, but we knew that when he showed up at a post-game press conference in a wife beater.
florio’s right. everytime i have a couple of beers, i get the urge to do cocaine. don’t you?
Florio, are you sure you’re an attorney? You show way too much common sense on topics such as this….
or he would stay at home to drink. or hire a driver.
Is this the same Dave Butz who used to play for the Redskins in the 80s? If it is, his client would be much better off if he nailed him with a hard tackle and knocked some sense into him…
Florio!! What’s up dude?! I know this isn’t the scoop we’re all used to but I thought this was a really good story…especially with all the negative stuff we hear about players these days. Plus he’s a Redskin….Hail! http://blog.redskins.com/2009/03/10/devin-thomas-makes-friends/
Some folks are lucky in the sense that they don’t have an addictive personality. They don’t need beer or pot or coke to make them feel better. Does anyone suggest that Matt takes drugs to make him a better player? If so, he needs new drugs! The young man has a problem, & he needs help, not “better than thou” folks pouring judgement upon him.
I love this site, & have it set as my homepage, but sometimes I think Florio never did the things MOST young men do, including drinking & whoring & doing whatever drug is in front of you.
I think Matt has some kind of problem.
After June, he will be finished with probation and he can drink all he wants. Why drink now?
Does he have an authority problem?
Does he have a drinking problem?
Does he have a thinking problem?
He is gonna have a job problem soon.
If it were the same Dave Butz that played for the Skins, Ralph wouldn’t make that comment to his face.
If it were the same Dave Butz that played for the Skins, then he needs to hit him in the head with that size 9 1/4 bucket errr i mean helmet he used to wear.
Not everybody cares about a players legal status. As long as he can play on Sundays, who cares?
Just covering your judgemental ass, ey Mikey? You should be ashamed. As a lawyer anyways.
As a football guy, you’re the best.
Florio-
Long time, first time. You’re going all Rick Reilly Soap-box on us right now. I have to disagree with you. I don’t care if Matt Jones has a few beers while golfing, or if he guzzles a bottle of vodka while on probation. He’s a grown man and can do what he wants.
“He ducked serious felony cocaine possession charges by agreeing to enter into a diversion program that requires him to avoid all controlled substances, and alcohol.”
He got caught doing blow with some friends, just like any number of your average twentysomething year olds around the country. Those same twentysomething year olds the NFL is bleeding dry for revenue. Matt Jones can’t blame anyone but himself, but lucky for him he’s an NFL player with a high priced agent/lawyer who earned his commission this week. Leave the kid alone.
The biggest shame here is that he’s 6’6 and runs a 4.3 and the Jaguars haven’t figured out how to use him.
Looks to me like the incident is no big deal and people should let it go. A 25…26? year old NFL player had a few beers on a golf course. The judge didn’t even care because it is such a small issue.
Must suck being perfect. God forbid a 25 year old F’s up by having a couple beers on a golf course. What an asshole.
Dave Butz had the best United Way commercial ever. You know, the Santa Claus gig. He was doing it for the kids. Best ever.
The story here in Jax is that when Matt was golfing his friends threw beers at him.
He dropped the first 3, then caught the 4th and it went down as soon as someone touched him.
Damn Florio- you sound more like a prosecutor than some joe-schmoe attorney.
This shows poor judgement on Jones’ part, but it’s hardly the same as Ricky Williams picking up the hashpipe after his 9th suspension. Yes, it screams of an “I’m above the law” attitude, but it was just beer so let’s not blow it out of proportion.