Clinton Portis says 'Pacman' situation blown out of proportion

Clinton Portis isn't a lawyer, nor does he play one on TV.

But that doesn't dissuade the Washington Redskins running back from acting as a de facto defense attorney for Dallas Cowboys cornerback Pacman Jones, suspended indefinitely today by the NFL.

Jones, who has a long history of legal problems and run-ins with the law, got into a fight last week with a bodyguard hired by the Cowboys to keep him out of trouble.

"I really think that situation man probably was blown out of proportion, I really do," Portis told ESPN 980, the Redskins' flagship radio station. "And I think it might have just been somebody watching and seen the altercation and it wasn't nothing that couldn't be handled amongst men, you know? Bodyguard or no bodyguard, if you're around somebody constantly, tempers gonna flare. As men you exchange words...

"And I think with Pacman, to come back, to really have this opportunity was a golden opportunity for him, and all of the sudden it's been taken away by the outside world. And now you're under such a tight microscope that you can't fall, or you can't have a disagreement with a grown man. You know, I could see if it was pistol play or if he strangled him or choked him out while he was driving, but you know, if it's man-to-man and we bump chests and push each other, you know, I don't think that's an altercation worth taking football away from him. But, you know, wrong place wrong time is all I can say."

Ah, yes, dusting off the the rare wrong-place-wrong-time defense. Well played.

The Portis quotes are courtesy of Dan Steinberg's D.C. Sports Bog, and Steinberg reminds us that things didn't turn out so well for Portis' last NFL defendant.

-- Sam Farmer

Photo: Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins celebrates scoring a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Credit: Chris McGrath / Getty Images