On Sunday April 26th of 2015 Jon “Bones” Jones reentered the imagination of the mass public. Albeit not in the way either he or the UFC intended. Rather than focusing on his upcoming title defense against a formidable challenger, Jones has found himself in a real-life soap opera dominated by themes of illegal drug use and reckless life choices.
For those familiar with the man and his story these motifs have become unfortunately too common. For the UFC this has been cited as the final straw. Jonny Bones is now looking at possible felony charges and an uncertain future career path.
THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF TRANSGRESSIONS
To the uninitiated, Jones was involved in a felony hit-and-run incident. The details of the accident are still very much unconfirmed and best left out until they are verified. What is indisputable is that this fiasco is just the latest in a pattern of poor decision making.
Previous to his UFC stint Bones had been cited in 3 traffic incidents. His most famous occurred in 2012 when an intoxicated Jones ran his Bentley into a utility pole. This DUI has been frequently brought up as an example of Jones’ poor behavior outside the octagon.
That incident would be largely overshadowed in January of this year. After his dominant victory over hated rival Daniel Cormier, the NSAC notified the public that Jones had failed an out-of-competition drug screening. Cocaine was ultimately the culprit but no repercussions were felt. Instead since this was out-of-competition and coke is deemed recreational the terms for punishment are non-existent. For many this was just further evidence of a pampered and undisciplined superstar being given preferential treatment.
Those perks came to a screeching halt on Tuesday as the UFC made its stance very clear. Jones was stripped of his title and suspended indefinitely. Gone also was his much anticipated clash with top contender, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Jones’ title will now be contested between Rumble and his last challenger Daniel Cormier.
The after effects are still being felt. Reebok has conceded to public opinion and has dropped Jones from a very lucrative and public sponsorship. This is all in light of the fact that Jones has yet to go through a criminal trial. To compound matters, it would be completely unsurprising if a civil suit reared its head. The pregnant female that was damaged in the accident was revealed to suffer a broken arm. A payout is most definitely expected.
When you tally up the real damage that is done to Jones both in financial terms as well as a tainted legacy, the results are quite severe.
- Jon Jones is most likely the first athlete in history to lose a clothing/shoe sponsorship from the two largest players in the game, Nike and Reebok. Even more impressive is this is all in less than a year. The financial windfall is certainly in the seven-figure range.
- The record seeking run that Jones was on has now come to a standstill. Having already crushed the LHW record for most consecutive title defenses, Jones was on a clear-cut path to dominate the overall record. Having recorded 8 straight, Jones was but one off from Georges St. Pierre and two from Anderson Silva. The prevailing theme now emerging will be “what could have been?”.
NOT THE FIRST GREAT SPORTSMAN TO DERAIL HIS CAREER
Trying to find parallels to other figures in sports is always an easy way to make sense of the situation. With this particular scenario, Jones is in a class of his own. Sure, there are comparisons that could be made to Mike Tyson or Floyd Mayweather but those are not entirely fair.
Tyson had suffered defeat just a year ago and was in a downward spiral. Arguably, his incarceration added years onto his career.
Mayweather’s conviction and prison sentence were ridiculously light. For a man who fights no more than twice a year the two month sentence was little more than a bump in the road.
In terms of damaged reputation and legacy there are some similarities to Lance Armstrong. Once deemed as the absolute best at his craft, he is now seen as a pariah to his sport.
Perhaps the suspension of Muhammad Ali is the best case to draw upon. Ali was unquestionably at the peak of his game when he was suspended and stripped of his title. After three years of inactivity Ali returned to much fanfare. Unfortunately, that time away came with a steep price. Ali previously relied upon an unnaturally deep well of physical gifts.
This is most certainly true for Jones as well. However, when Ali returned those gifts were greatly diminished. He spent the next 12 years fighting largely on heart and with little resemblance to his prior immaculate defensive self.
We have yet to see how Jones will react to this adversity. If he does return will we still see the Bones of old? Or will Jones have to pull deeper and find something in himself that few of us currently see in him?
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