Every time a player with a questionable character is traded or signs with a new team in professional sports, there's always the debate about the dreaded "distraction" factor.

OK, Adam "Pacman" Jones doesn't really have a questionable character; it seems pretty solid to say his character is, without question, not his best quality. A slew of arrests and run-ins with the law usually isn't good on the character scale.

So all the so-called experts — especially the million that now work for ESPN — believe Pacman is going to be a detrimental force inside and outside the Dallas Cowboys locker room.

He will be a "distraction" when the Cowboys come back to Oxnard this summer to open their training camp.

I heard one of those ESPN analysts, former Redskins offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, say he wouldn't want Pacman on his team because of the distraction. His point was that players will now have to answer questions about Jones, suggesting those extra inquiries by the media can be "arduous" and cause mental angst for Pacman's new teammates.

Really? A couple more minutes with the media will be so taxing? Schlereth, who by ESPN law has to refer to the NFL as the National Football League every time he speaks as if no one knows what the NFL stands for, isn't giving NFL (umm, sorry, National Football League) players a lot of credit. Aren't they suppose to be the toughest athletes, mentally and physically, in all of sports?

The Cowboys gave up a few late draft picks in the next few years to get Pacman, and will even recoup one of those picks if commissioner Roger Goodell doesn't reinstate Pacman for the 2008 season.

If Pacman gets in more trouble — not exactly a big "if" — the Cowboys can simply cut him and the loss would be minimal. If Pacman is a good citizen, they get a top-of-the-line cornerback and an explosive special-teams weapon that would simply add more firepower to a Super Bowl-caliber team.

And what about him being the "distraction?"

It's just one more for the Cowboys, who have a omnipresent owner (Jerry Jones), a mercurial receiver (Terrell Owens) and a playboy quarterback (Tony Romo) dating a well-known bombshell (Jessica Simpson). I think they can handle Pacman joining the fray.

It's not like they will have more reporters sniffing about now. The Cowboys players have to be used to the circus-like atmosphere. They are the Yankees of the NFL. If they can't deal with it, they don't deserve to be champions.

— Jon Catalini is The Star's sports editor. E-mail address: jcatalini@VenturaCountyStar.com.