Jon Jones apologizes for "screwing up" with DUI, slams "fickle MMA fans"
Posted on May 21, 2012, 08:15 AM by Anton GurevichUFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jones "Bones" Jones, has released his first public statement following last weekend's DUI (driving under influence) accident with his 2012 Bentley Continental.
Speaking via Facebook, Jones apoogized for the incident, but also took the opportunity to hit back at "fickle MMA fans":
"Man I haven't added anyone new to my Facebook page in like three years and right now I'm so glad that I haven't. It has literally been sickening to have so many people try to kick me while I'm down. At the same time, I totally understand, I gave them the leeway to. I screwed up, big time. Just needed to say thank you to all you guys for being amazing friends/supporters.
Always having to deal with so many critics, haters and fickle mma fans, I almost forgot how strong of a home base I had (607 and people that knew me before I was a champion fighter). Although the hell that will come with this hasn't even started yet, I want you guys to know how much better you've all made me feel, not only about this situation but about life, everything. It's good to feel that people are there and care. With that being said, I felt I should apologize to you first.
I'm truly sorry to those of you that I may have embarrassed in any way, to those of you with kids that I may have let down. I will prove to them as well as to myself, that no matter what is happening in life, we can always work our way back and make things even better than before. Reading you guys uplifting comments was a great reminder for me to not give up on who I am or all the hateful people. I'm not gonna allow this situation to outweigh the positive. I love you guys right back and I promise to make things right.
ps sorry about the terrible grammar :)"
The twenty-four year old champ has already defended his title three times, and is widely considered as one of the top Pound-for-Pound fighters on the panet. Jon Jones' next title defense will be against Dan Henderson, most likely at September 1st UFC 151 fight card in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Stay tuned to LowKick.com for more.
Comments
Jon Jones on being promoted heavily by the UFC:
"think if I was a knucklehead and I was a guy who you would have to worry about getting a DWI or going out and doing something really stupid, they simply wouldn’t promote me. I think they see the guy that I am and they trust that, even though I’m a 24-year-old, I’m a trustworthy 24-year-old"
What.a.jackass
I guess the bar has been set awfully low for any "trustworthy 24 year old".
Hey Jones that's not nice. I've never liked you to begin with. I'm not one of these bandwagon guys who just start hating you out of no where.
I was looking for that comment.
talking about a role model....
Jones tries to act like the perfect clean slate guy and calls himself a role model, acts like he would never make a mistake but when something like this happens I'm actually not surprised.
While GSP genuinely is the perfect guy who is 100% clean but DOESN'T call himself a role model, I wouldn't believe it if GSP did something like this.
Basically what I'm saying is if you call yourself a role model a lot of the time you aren't or not what you think you are anyway.
Poor tree.
" the bar" pun intended?:D
Glad to see someone got it.
I'll stop being a "fickle" fan (never was a fan) when he stops being an arrogant fake champion.
Jesus drank wine too
Didn't drive after it tho
"Police have not commented on if there was anyone else in the car"!
Since the accident was at 5 am and Bones has a fiance, this story might not be done.
And seriously, the dude can afford a driver for when he wants to have a few ****tails. It's the first really dumb thing Jones has done, and I hope it's the last.
wow, the word that got censored really gives the post a creepy buzz. It is....c o c k t a i l s....
Hope it doesn't sound that Jones had few c o c ks :)
Fiance = woman he is banging but will never marry.
Wont be the last.
In my very humble opinion - this is the worst possible statement that Jon Jones could've released.
Say you're sorry, promise to improve. Thank fans for support - and that's it.
But "fickle fans", "hateful comments"... come on. You're a top tier athlete - haters will always be there.
I agree Anton, he was the one lifting himself up above everyone else saying he would never do something stupid like that and then he goes and does it. I am a critic of him, not of his skills but I always thought there was something fake about him. There is Mexican saying that goes like this "don't spit to the sky, because you will get your own face".
I also agree. Any celebrity has to expect people to rip on them, even when they don't screw up.
@anton
Gotta agree, not sure what he's thinking or whether he's using gray matter at all. Based on this and other statements I'm revising my opinion of him from arrogant to stupid.
He should have left the fickle fans part out completely.
Maybe if he had said " I screwed up bad and I let my new found success get the best of me."
I accept that he feels bad about all the criticism but the place to air those frustrations is to his loved ones, not in public. If he had a PR team they would be telling him the same thing Greg Jackson has been telling him all along - just go out there and look humble and apologetic - period.
I also think he should recognize that he deserves to be hated on for this. It looks like he drove himself into a tree, obviously he could easily have killed someone with some bad luck.
The press release I would have wanted to see would be something like this.
He is sorry for his actions, understand that he deserves all the hate he is getting, thank those that support and promise to improve.
I've always been a huge Bones fan and don't mind he puts himself on a pedestal but the higher you are the further you fall, no one but himself to blame for the accident and amount of hate he will receive.
He does have a publicist Bruce
Oops, I guess he should have spoken to him before he released this statement.
Shoulda hired Cesar Gracie for damage control.
LOL!!!
Cesar Gracie is becoming the johnny Cochran of mma
Cesar would be the guy at the wreck and tell the police "dunno where he is, must've went out the window".
More likely Cesar would be handing Jones a bottle of booze and he'd tell the cops that Jones was sober at the time of the crash and was only drinking after the crash to calm his nerves.
That is one tough car though.Thats a thick powerpole and its split on the backside. Expected it to have no front end at all.....Jon must have a concussion to say screw off haters then immediately afterwards say he understands though.......Greg Jackson "Go get some fans"
I can just imagine that high pitched Jackson voice on the phone,
"Get rid of the hoodrat in the passenger seat Jon, go get some fans"
LMAO
Lol at Jones dissing his haters 1st & then in the middle he writes " With that being said, I felt I should apologize to you first."
This is what happens when things are going to good for someone. It sucks.
Now to get out of the PR screw up he's going to have to say he's going into rehab or sensitivity training ;-)
Dana's gotta be pulling his hair out :-P
seeing Jones' actions outside the cage, even before this incident - it seemed apparent that these types of bad publicity were just waiting to happen - from the thousand of haters, to the conflict with a former teammate, and now this.
Jones may go undefeated and defend his title several times for who knows how long, but eventually Jones' demise would be due to either a total lack of appeal to the fans or a massive injury.
I cant help but laugh when I imagine 6'4" 230lbs grown man driving a moped.
Behind every successful person lies a pack of haters.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Did you get your license back yet Sonny? j/k
Guest The fact that he has been caught drink driving has nothing to do with the fans! Take some responsibility for your actions Jon! The sooner you lose that championship belt the better and Dans the man to do it!
not good bones.
btw i gotta ask, what is the difference between DUI (driving under influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated)???
DUI is ether under drug use or they showed up to the scene after the crash an did not catch him in the act drunk.
The difference is that DUI is spelled D.U.I. and DWI is spelled D. uh..I forget how to spell it. nm
I just love how the first comment on the top is from a person called "bluntsandbeers". That sounds like the perfect person to be critiquing someone getting a DUI.
@mmagym DWI is the same as DUI. Some States call it DWI and others call it DUI.
Sorry Bones but we hate hypocrites. I guess Rashad Evans knew what he was talking about when he said Jones was a phony and the one everyone sees is not the real Jones. As far as his privacy goes, he lost it when he became champ and the face of the UFC. Give me a break. He committed a serious offense and deserves absolutely no forgiveness. He is now considered a reckless, rude, self-centered, selfish, punk driving around in a Bentley. I really hope that Hendo busts him up good and takes the belt.
Jon,
you dont have that scripture tattooed on your chest for nothing...
You need to examine yourself and how much you really love the Lord. This is an example of the type of lifestyle you are living out of the cage. You just dont wake up and say "I think Im going to get drunk today". If that is the case, you need to get rid of those idiot friends your hanging out with. When you surround yourself with good people that care about you and your best interest, things like this will never happen....
I don't take anything away from John. He a great fighter and seem like he has a bright future ahead of him. He did make a mistake and he will be punished for it. I just though he was smarter than that..It seems like all this fame is getting to his head. He needs to slow down and take a step back.
Just want to be clear.
Jon Jones chose to drink to impairment, (after saying he could be 'Trusted' not to do that,) get into his Bentley, (when he said he wasn't buying foolish stuff,) drive in an unsafe physical condition. knowingly risking the Lives of anyone he happened to pass on the road, as well as his passenger, and not caring.
Jon Jones tries to make himself the Victim for his behavior, because of "fickle MMA fans," (and Sponsors?) who did not stand by his choice to knowingly, risk the Lives of others.
He's kinda sorry, but clearly, not really.
Actually, it would be OK if he injured an innocent Family, because he is a Great MMA Fighter, and that excuses him from personal responsibility.
(Oh, yeah. he loves his children by his Baby Mamas.)
That about it?
John.. you should know the drill Dont drive if you are drinking....take a cab...dude you got too much to lose....forget fighting if you killl someone they take everything from you.... you lose everything...come on champ...THINK....USE YOUR HEAD!!!!!!!
Is it just me or does the hole keep getting dud deeper for Jones, regardless of the fact that he's one of the most talented fighters on the planet?
Not just you. He's disliked by a lot already, and he's giving those people ammunition by saying stupid ish like this. Not to mentionput off people who were big fans of his already.
Jon Jones...Come on,man.
Fickle Fans?These fans aren't "fickle" there DISAPPOINTED!
YOU lead your flock to believe YOU were the poster child of clean living,and the role model you consistently polish the media with?
Hmmmm..kinda blew that out of the water,didn't you?
In elite sports there will always be the guy you love,or the guy you hate. It doesn't change.
What you did show, was that though you can dedicate your life to training,working harder then others to reach a goal few will achieve -you proved yourself reckless to yourself,your aspiring fans,and fans that did believe you.
Don't call fans "fickle" because YOU let them down...get that clear in your head.
The excuse of "I'm only 24" with lack of life experience is a full stacked crock...There is no age that does not understand common sense.
proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
As a Christian, if we are to become rich and/or famous we should alwyas remember this, and as a Jones fan, he became prideful and now this happens, yes God forgives, but fans will always will judge, and persecute, now it's not a matter of falling but getting up and walking right again will be your new opponent.
Persecution used to mean getting gruesomely slaughtered...burned alive and whatnot. Apparently now it means receiving well-deserved critical comments on facebook.
and thats always lol sorry
I marvel at Jones' stupidity. He always manages to find the worst possible thing to say. Either he has the worst PR team in history, or he's to stupid to realize he needs one.
He wants people to think he's a great guy and a role model, so he does the worst possible thing...and talks about what a great guy he is. It convinces nobody that he is a great guy, but convinces many that he is arrogant and full of himself.
He makes a huge mistake, and while apologizing for it, lashes out at those who, with very good reason, criticized him for it. For those who criticized him, the apology is now meaningless, because all they will remember is that he lashed out. He would have been better off saying nothing.
100%
Also, by the looks of this accident, it was a DWFU (Driving while ****ed up). I bet he blew at least a 0.20.
I wonder how long until the Ufc adopts a ”conduct detrimental” rule like the NFL has.
Hey Jon,Jon Jones! go check on Lyoto,go check on him,go win some fans! continue with your antics and with statements such as the one above continue losing fans! this shows you are fake ass phony! thank you Mr.Evans!
and probably nobody has requested your fake ass as a friend on fb,if anything they unfriended you after showing your true colors! forgot to say this,ok night!
This kid is going to crash and burn. Take accountability for your actions and move on. Figure out who you really are.
This kid is going to crash and burn. Take accountability for your actions and move on. Figure out who you really are.
Im still a fan of his spectacular fighting skills. But seriously, wtf is he doing? He has been trying so hard to create an image of himself as a trustworthy rolemodel. Now he is not Bones Jones the rolemodel, he is Bones Jones the drunk driver. I dont like his response about fans kicking him while he is down either considering he is not the victim but the perpetrator in this story. Boo ****ing hoo, dont drink and drive and expect people to feel sorry for you. Try and learn something from your critics instead.
I will still enjoy his fights, but ill consider every word that comes out of his mouth as complete bullshit.
Very well said.