Dhani Jones wishes Tiki luck in comeback
Former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones puts on his golf shoes at The Hamptons Golf Classic. (June 27, 2011) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Dhani Jones is a man with interests outside of football. So he has no ill will toward his old Giants teammate, Tiki Barber, for either walking away from the game after the 2006 season or wanting to return once the lockout ends.
"I'm never opposed to anyone who wants to go back," Jones said Monday during the Hamptons Golf Classic at Hampton Hills Golf & Country Club in Westhampton Beach. "Every other sport, it seems like guys are able to retire and come back. Even in football, [Brett] Favre did it so many times. Tiki's got a little bit of a longer road to hoe, being out for four years, but I'll always support him. I played with him and I know what kind of athlete he is."
Jones, 33, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons, including the last four with the Bengals, but he'll be a free agent if and when the lockout ends. If Jones, who spent three years with the Giants (2001-03) and three with the Eagles (2004-06), doesn't have the gaudy NFL stats Barber did, he has far surpassed Barber's media career.
Jones has already hosted a show on the Travel Channel and has a VH1 show, "A Ton of Cash," beginning on Aug. 7. He is the travel expert for Bing, the online search engine. And he released a book, "The Sportsman," earlier this month.
So the lockout is not exactly leaving him anxious.
"I want to get this going, but at the same time . . . a lot of people say, 'Oh, the lockout's bad,' " Jones said. "And yes, the lockout is bad for people who work for the league, and for people associated with the league. But for players, it's an important time to understand that the NFL really does mean 'Not For Long.'
"And what are you going to do outside the game? For me, I've got the shows, producing different shows, my company -- as I start to build validity in whatever field I choose, I hope other guys are doing the same thing for their passions. That they'll search for things they love outside the game so when they are truly locked out -- because they don't have a job anymore -- they'll find something they can do outside the game."
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