When UFC champion Jon Jones announced he was entering a drug treatment facility after testing positive for a cocaine metabolite, some felt it was a PR move and a Tuesday report will only add fuel to that fire.
According to WBNG Action News, a CBS affiliate from Binghamton, N.Y., Jones spent just one night in rehab before leaving.
When news broke of his failed drug test earlier this month, Jones and his lawyer released the following statement:
“With the support of my family, I have entered into a drug treatment facility. I want to apologize to my fiancée, my children, as well as my mother, father, and brothers for the mistake that I made. I also want to apologize to the UFC, my coaches, my sponsors and equally important to my fans. I am taking this treatment program very seriously. Therefore, at this time my family and I would appreciate privacy.”
Jones’s mother, Camille Jones, told WBNG she is happy her son was caught following a random drug screening administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission Dec. 4.
“I’m glad that this happened to Jon, this stopped him in his tracks, this let him know that he may need to change some friends, you know, because everyone is not for you for the best,” Camille said. “This is a good thing as far as our family is concerned, so we wasn’t upset. Me and my husband considered it a blessing from God that our child was able to be helped and know that he need to stop and know that he needed the assistance to stop before it came to something worse.”
UFC has major image crisis after Jones drug test
While this was his first failed drug test during his UFC career, it isn’t the first time Jones has been surrounded by controversy. In May 2012, he was arrested and charged with a DUI after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton, N.Y. He pleaded guilty and avoided jail time.
“When he tested positive, my first question was, ‘do you have a problem, a serious problem?’ And then he told me what happened,” Camille said. “Jon is usually very honest with me, so he told me what happened. I was like, ‘good for you … good. You needed to be caught,’ it was just timing.”
Jones was not suspended by the Nevada commission and was allowed to compete by the UFC despite both organizations learning of his failed test prior to Jan. 3 when he fought and defeated Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 182.
“You know, it did not affect his game, it was not in his system during the fight, so he’s still a good athlete. So before something becomes serious of it, I was glad it was nipped in the bud,” his mother added.
Camille also confirmed to WBNG that Jones plans to attend the AFC Championship game Sunday in Foxborough, Mass., to watch his two brothers compete. Jones’s older brother Arthur is a defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts and his younger brother Chandler is a defensive end with the New England Patriots.