Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon apologized Wednesday for the negative attention he brought his new team following his DUI arrest over the weekend.
Blackmon blew a .24 and .26 on breathalyzer tests after he was pulled over Sunday morning in Stillwater, Okla., and he pled not guilty to an aggravated DUI charge Monday. Two days later, he tried to move past the embarrassing incident in a news conference with Jaguars general manager Gene Smith and coach Mike Mularkey.
"First off, I want to apologize to Gene and Mr. (Shahid) Khan and Coach Mularkey," Blackmon said. "The whole organization, teammates, everyone that my poor judgment brought bad press to. I want to apologize to fans or people that looked up to me. What I did, the decision I made over the weekend, that might be questioning who I am. I just want to apologize for that and let people know that's not who I am, that's not who I'm going to be."
Blackmon was asked if he had a problem with alcohol, considering his previous DUI arrest in college.
"I do not. I just made a poor choice," Blackmon said. "It was completely my fault. I just have to make better judgment."
The Jaguars' brass said Blackmon's actions were unacceptable. Blackmon said he'll get the necessary help.
"I'm going to seek whatever I need to seek," Blackmon said.
These types of news conferences are necessary, but they ultimately ring hollow because we've seen it all before. We give Blackmon a ton of credit for realizing that.
"Words are words, and it's my actions that are going to have to show," Blackmon said.
