"He does need to address the kinds of things that seem to be with him at various times and one of those that he's dealt with for a really long time, he needs to address in a way that most of us might understand -- alcohol issues," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas.

"I am disappointed for him and his opportunity and for the Cowboys and our opportunity and, frankly, for the NFL," Jones said. "I would like to have been standing here talking about his success and the curtain coming up for him and addressing his issues. That certainly would have been more positive."

In his letter to Jones informing him of his latest suspension, Goodell said Jones' "disturbing pattern of behavior was clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL."

The disturbance at an upscale Dallas hotel came only six weeks after Goodell reinstated Jones from a 17-month suspension.

"It's terribly disappointing to me that we're dealing with this again and that he's reflecting so poorly on all of the players in this league, which they don't deserve," Goodell said at the NFL meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Goodell said a lifetime ban remained a possibility.

"It's going to be up to Adam and what he does in the following weeks. Getting an evaluation and whatever treatment may be prescribed to him at that point of time," Goodell said. "Part of it is going to be whether he's willing to do some of the things that we are asking him to do."

The player's agent, Worrick Robinson, didn't return messages left by The Associated Press with his assistant and on his cell phone.

Goodell said the NFL, if asked, would help set up evaluations.

Asked if substance abuse was involved, Goodell responded, "I don't know. I'm not a doctor. I think that's one of the reasons we want him to get an evaluation."

League and law enforcement sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen prior to the ruling that Goodell was expected to weigh whether Jones was in potential violation of his probation, in which he was prohibited from alcohol-related incidents.

When Goodell reinstated Jones from suspension before the regular season began, sources said one of the commissioner's conditions for Jones to remain an active player was that he remain in compliance with all aspects of his three-year probation from his no-contest plea last February to a felony in Fayette County, Ga.

"We respect and support the decision of the commissioner," Jerry Jones said in a statement earlier Tuesday. "I regret that this issue has brought negative attention to the Cowboys and the NFL. We move forward with a very clear knowledge as to what the process will be for a possible reinstatement. Adam is well aware of where he stands and what he has to do."

Police reported that Adam Jones might have been drinking when he was involved in the scuffle with a Cowboys-assigned bodyguard last week in Dallas, but Jerry Jones has refuted many of the allegations and speculation, saying the incident was nothing more than back-and-forth banter that got out of hand. A small glass item on the vanity in the hotel's restroom was damaged.

The player and his bodyguard, part of a security detail provided by the Cowboys to be with him at all times, said everything was OK. Police said both were driven from the hotel by an acquaintance, and the bodyguard did not want to press charges. No arrests were made.

Jones began his time in Dallas under close scrutiny by the league after he was suspended for the entire 2007 season for multiple violations of the conduct policy while he was a member of the Tennessee Titans. The Cowboys traded for Jones before his suspension was over and he was reinstated by Goodell on Aug. 28.

Goodell also said his decision on whether Jones can return to play will be based on Jones' strict compliance with the NFL and the Cowboys in relation to treatment plans and evaluations by clinical experts.

"I'd like to see him intensify his approach to getting better with his social conduct," Jerry Jones told ESPN.com. "I'd like to see that. If it were successful, I'd like to be a part of it. I'd like to have influenced it. I know the commissioner, considering his conduct policies in the NFL, it was a well-considered decision to let Adam back into the NFL."

The Cowboys' owner said he does not regret making the trade that brought Adam Jones to Dallas.

"I don't regret having been a part of helping him do better," Jones told ESPN.com. "I am sorry that we've had the negative publicity and that is the price that we pay for the team as well as the NFL."



Jones's friend and mentor, former Cowboys defensive back Deion Sanders, felt the minimum four-game suspension was a little harsh, according to the Dallas Morning News.

"[Goodell] He made a real cautious decision, and we respect it," Sanders said, according to the report. "But Adam is certainly not happy. He's upset with the severity of it, being the four games.

"But really what he's upset about is, we're praying that he doesn't lose hope. Let's keep in mind he was told that he was going to be suspended for eight games a couple seasons ago, correct?" Sanders said, according to the newspaper report. "And the suspension lasted the entire year. ... So he's thinking to himself, 'All right, I was already told this once before. Hopefully, this is not the same process.'

"