EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 Television
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Lion-hearted man

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Thursday November 18, 1999 06:20 PM

Detroit Lions defensive tackle James Jones is not a beeper guy. He is a soft-spoken family man and an intelligent player. He is a down-to-earth guy, a true professional -- and the main reason the Lions now have one of the best run defenses in the NFL.

But the tiny little beeping contraption is now his constant companion. And when he's working out or on the field, a member of the Lions' staff, usually the team trainer, holds the beeper for Jones, who is praying that some day soon the tiny little thing clicks or vibrates or squawks or whatever those things do -- giving the signal that his wife may be saved.

WHYLO OF THE WEEK Last week we attempted to raise the bar a bit with reader feedback and I am pleased to say that 98% of you responded admirably. For that, I thank you. Of course, if it wasn't for that other 2%, well then, we wouldn't have a WHYLO each week. And this week's is a doozy. Paul Anderson, of Alexandria, Va., began by addressing his e-mail to someone named "Chris." and things just went downhill from there. "I read your article 'Little to cheer in the NFL' you made some good points. My question is that why did you single out the black football players? Not once have you ever referred to a white player in a negative manner. WHY? Is that that white players are never in trouble or when they are the MEDIA hides it?" Hmm. Apparently, our friend Paul failed to notice the reference to Steve Howe in the last column or the entire column dedicated to ripping Pete Rose that ran all of three weeks ago. Beyond that is Paul's ugly, yet thinly veiled, accusation that I am racist. A point I won't even dignify with a response. To accommodate this kind of crap, I have created something new called Flem File Exile. Paul Anderson, you are hereby banned from the Flem File. Go away. Never to return. And may you spend your time in Flem File Exile with this phrase forever ringing in your ears: WHO HELPED YOU LOG ON? Mailbag I appreciate your columns as some of the lively and most substantive the fluff-filled Web has to offer. Thank you for shutting the door on the gutter-dwellers who can't even write a decent e-mail or make an argument containing fewer than three non sequiturs. So when will Flem File be in SI? It's worthy. -- Nathan Bierma, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich. Dear Nathan, look for it right after Pete Rose is inducted into the Hall of Fame. My compliments to you on your column regarding the Leonard Little DUI incident. While I agree with most of it, I would like to say this: if the courts have determined what punishment is to be set out for Little, does that mean he should lose his job? I happen to work in an office environment. If there are employees who have had run ins with the law, and they "served their time" and returned to their jobs, is it the employer's responsibility to punish them further? If not, why should athletes be different? Because they get paid a lot of money? That's why we have the court system. So people can pay their debt to society and get on with their lives. I agree that Little is going to have a lifetime of grief and shame for what has happened, and he should. But as a person he is entitled to a second chance. People who intentionally kill people are released from jail all the time. If they get a second chance, don't we ALL deserve one? -- Mark Hudiburg Thank you for your column on the NFL, fans and responsibility. As a former sportswriter and (very) long-time fan of virtually all sports, I find myself getting more disillusioned by the day. The Hawks' Rider wants the ball; Carolina's Fred Lane grabs his crotch after a meaningless touchdown; Derrick Coleman assembles a rap sheet that would embarrass a Mafia Don; Bobby Bowden is delighted that Warrick doesn't have to face felony charges. We are becoming a rude, ugly society based largely, I hate to admit it, on the actions of the athletes we seem to hold in such esteem. The sad fact is, pro sports is becoming nothing more than a halfway house for thugs on their way to lives of battering, abuse and self-destruction. I admire speed, grace and athleticism. I involved my son in sports to learn lessons in discipline, teamwork and effort. But the ability to do things physically eventually leaves. The character and intellect remain. We need to remember that. We need to remind others of it, as well. -- Phil Williams, Charlotte Amen. Click here to see more letters

What most folks don't know in Detroit is that Jones is quietly having a Pro Bowl season all while his wife, Son-Ja Jones, 29, waits back in Davenport, Iowa, for a kidney/pancreas transplant that will save her life. Son-Ja, who suffers from the advanced stages of diabetes, has been on dialysis since mid October. She is currently No. 2 on the donor lists at Iowa University and the University of Wisconsin.

"I have faith that an organ will be found and my wife will live a long, happy, healthy life," said Jones. "In the meantime you just try to cherish every moment that you can. What's important to me is supporting my wife."

If you're like me, about three-quarters of the way through the football season -- ironically, right around the Thanksgiving holiday -- is just about when you get tired of the Lawrence Phillips, the Leon Letts and the Leonard Littles of the NFL world.

In a sports world turned upside-down, where jerks and perps are the norm and heroes are the anomaly, it's nice to discover once in a while that there are still guys like Jones around -- the kind of courageous athletes, still living in the real world, who make you feel good about cheering on Sunday.

Originally, doctors told Son-Ja that she might have up to five more years before her kidneys began to fail. But unexpectedly, after James signed with Detroit as a free agent this off-season, things turned for the worst. Now Son-Ja waits back home, separated from her husband, because she needs to remain within driving distance of the hospitals should a donor be found.

When the call does come, James will have roughly two hours to get to his wife's side. He has made contingency plans, with the Lions cooperation, to do just that. Playoffs, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, doesn't matter, Jones will drop everything to be there. He may even take one of the team's private planes if need be.

I'm from Detroit. And I have never really been a Lions fan. But this kind of display of proper priorities, by a player and a franchise, is the kind of thing that could change all that in a hurry.

Maybe I'm getting old, maybe I'm getting sappy, (maybe I don't give a rat's rear what people will think), but in this day and age, this means more to me than 1,000 Barry Sanders touchdowns and a hundred Super Bowls.

Records fade and trophies become door stops. But class and dignity endure. When, exactly, did we all lose sight of that?

"I went in to see coach [Bobby] Ross and I told him, when this happens I need to be with my family and my wife," Jones said to me last week. "And if I can't have the time then I'll hand you back all the money and I just won't play football this year. But coach Ross, my teammates, everyone in this organization, has been great and it's one reason I'm able to get through this."

Every two weeks Jones is allowed to go to Iowa on Monday to see his wife. Then he takes a crack-of-dawn flight back Wednesday morning. Other than that he never misses a meeting, never begs out of extra film work, never offers an excuse. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, a guy like Lawrence Phillips is giggling during a blocking drill and refusing to practice.

Jones, on the other hand, is leading the Barry-less Lions back to the playoffs. In Week 7 at Carolina he anchored what has to be the best goal-line stand of the season. In that game, Carolina ran 14 plays inside the 5-yard-line and came away with negative 24 yards and two turnovers. Several times Jones, who is a film fanatic, pointed out clues in the Panthers' formations that tipped teammates off early to big plays.

"There have been times," says teammate Robert Porcher, "when I want to take James aside and ask him, "How can you do this? How can you deal with your family problems and still stay so focused and upbeat on football? How?"

Porcher paused for a moment and shook his head in silence before answering his own question.

"James Jones is just an amazing and strong human being."

Sports Illustrated staff writer David Fleming explores the sometimes weird and wacky side of sports every Thursday. Click here to send an e-mail to Flem, or address it yourself: flemfile@aol.com.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

 

Related information
Multimedia
Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright © 2000 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.