Jones: Also robbed
By GEOFF HOBSON
March 19, 2007
Updated: 3 p.m.
Although a police report won’t be filed until Friday, Bengals left tackle Levi Jones was
not only punched by Joey Porter Sunday night in a Las Vegas casino but he also told police he was robbed in the attack.
Officer Martin Wright of the Vegas police said Monday that
Jones said he had some jewelry stolen in an incident that apparently has roots in on-field trash talking that goes back several years.
Some sources indicated Monday that as many as seven people, including Porter, were involved in an attack of Jones, but police wouldn’t confirm the report and said they were attempting to find out if the incident is on tape.
“If it’s on tape, I would imagine it would be part of the report,” Wright said. “There were other people there. All we know is that when we arrived at the scene we heard there were words and one guy hit another guy and the victim wanted to press charges.”
Police cited Porter for misdemeanor battery after he allegedly punched Jones in the face at a gaming table in the Palms casino and didn’t cite Jones.
Kenny Zuckerman, Jones’ agent, had no comment on the incident or his client’s condition. Jones was treated at the scene, police said, and it’s believed he suffered facial cuts and isn’t hospitalized.
Porter, who had half a sack in the Steelers’ last five games against the Bengals, has had many on-field words with Jones, the man that blocked him on many of those plays.
Porter signed a five-year, $32 million deal with Miami last week after the Bengals thought they had set up a visit with the Pro Bow linebacker. Jones and many Bengals have spent the past few Steeler games jawing with Porter. In 2005, one of their games began with Porter and wide receiver Chad Johnson trash talking at midfield just before the kickoff.
It’s unknown if the incident has affected Jones’ surgically-repaired knee, which knocked him out of eight games and forced him to the sidelines for the final half of the season against the Steelers.
Last month head coach Marvin Lewis said Jones could undergo another surgery that wouldn’t prevent him from reporting to training camp on time. club nor Zuckerman has confirmed if Jones did have the procedure.
Porter surfaced in Miami for the first day of offseason workouts for the Dolphins Monday. The Bengals report in two weeks.
The Bengals game against the Dolphins in Miami this season now has some hype.