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Tank's dad: Son is being 'exploited'
Father defends son amid reports Tank fabricated stories of childhood woes
June 28, 2007
By Mike Hutton Special to the Daily Southtown
Tank Johnson was returning from his stepbrother's house in suburban Phoenix when he was stopped by police last Friday for being "impaired to the slightest degree," according to his father, Terry Johnson Sr.
Johnson was stopped in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix. He was returning to the home of his stepmother, Brenda Hanserd, when he was pulled over at 3:30 a.m.
Johnson had just arrived in town Thursday. He was ticketed for going 40 mph in a 25-mph zone. A blood test determining his blood alcohol content is expected to take two weeks.
Johnson Sr. said the offense wasn't anything "too big" and he's probably being "exploited."
Johnson was cut by the Bears on Monday after three seasons.
"Forty in a 25," he said. "That is not a big deal. One thing just led to another."
The elder Johnson said that Tank Johnson isn't a hard-core criminal or a bad kid.
The NFL suspended Johnson for eight games after he was thrown in jail for two months for possessing guns that weren't registered. Johnson had multiple run-ins with law while with the Bears.
Johnson Sr. doesn't expect his son to be charged for anything with this latest crime.
"I don't think anything will come of it," he said.
Johnson said he just wants to remain a positive influence in Tank's life while he waits out the suspension and eventually tries to sign with another team.
"I want him to keep his chin up, his head strong and keep in shape," he said. "I don't want him to get caught up in this little misdemeanor. He needs to focus on the big picture for his life."
Meanwhile, Tank Johnson exaggerated and fabricated some stories about his childhood in Gary and his father, according to his aunt and other family members.
Chris Johnson, Tank's aunt, was infuriated by a line in a column in the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana on Tuesday that said that Johnson Sr. had been "in and out of prison."
Chris Johnson is Terry Johnson Sr.'s older sister.
"You can't fabricate things and you can't go around making up accusations and building up stories based on your family," said Chris, who lives in Gary.
Said Terry Sr.: "I've never been in prison."
A profile on Tank Johnson in the Chicago Sun-Times on Aug. 10, 2004, said that Terry Sr. had spent time in prison in Texas when Tank was young. It also quoted Tank extensively about his parents' drug use. His mother's name is Natalie Mobley.
Chris Johnson said the drug allegations are "serious accusations. They aren't true. My brother has never been a drug addict. We need to clear my brother and my parents' name."
Howard Johnson, Terry's father, said he might have been in a "little trouble in Texas but he never served time in prison."
A criminal background check on Terry Johnson Sr. showed a narcotics violation involving marijuana in 2004 and some minor traffic offenses. A person from Intelius, the company used for the background check, said generally they go back 10 years, though older major offenses can show up.
Terry said the narcotics offense was a misdemeanor and it involved marijuana "rolling papers."
"That was supposed to be expunged," he said. "I need to take care of that."
Howard Johnson said the idea that Terry spent time in prison has caused a great deal of pain for both him and his wife, Alice.
"All this publicity about the family is just ridiculous," he said. "Every time I look in the papers, it's just a bunch of bull (deleted)."
Said Alice about Terry's alleged drug use and prison time: "It's all a bunch of lies."
When asked why the family didn't try to clear up Terry's criminal record when this started in 2004, Chris Johnson said: "We are private people. We just hoped it would go away."
Terry said Tank's memory about his childhood is hazy and not accurate.
Terry moved to Houston, to find work, when Tank was six weeks old. That was in 1981. Terry divorced Mobley when he lived in Texas. Five years later, Terry moved to Arizona, where he now resides.
Tank spent time in Gary, Minnesota (with his mother) and then he moved in with Terry in Arizona when Tank was in kindergarten.
He was returning to his stepmother's house on Friday in Arizona when he was arrested for speeding.
"I don't know how the stories got out about me," Terry said. "He was such a young kid when we divorced. I think what happened was when he got to Chicago he was forced to guess or speculate about what happened to him when he was asked by reporters. In fairness to his mother and me, he probably never should've said anything about us."
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/sports/447260,281SPT4.article
Father defends son amid reports Tank fabricated stories of childhood woes
June 28, 2007
By Mike Hutton Special to the Daily Southtown
Tank Johnson was returning from his stepbrother's house in suburban Phoenix when he was stopped by police last Friday for being "impaired to the slightest degree," according to his father, Terry Johnson Sr.
Johnson was stopped in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix. He was returning to the home of his stepmother, Brenda Hanserd, when he was pulled over at 3:30 a.m.
Johnson had just arrived in town Thursday. He was ticketed for going 40 mph in a 25-mph zone. A blood test determining his blood alcohol content is expected to take two weeks.
Johnson Sr. said the offense wasn't anything "too big" and he's probably being "exploited."
Johnson was cut by the Bears on Monday after three seasons.
"Forty in a 25," he said. "That is not a big deal. One thing just led to another."
The elder Johnson said that Tank Johnson isn't a hard-core criminal or a bad kid.
The NFL suspended Johnson for eight games after he was thrown in jail for two months for possessing guns that weren't registered. Johnson had multiple run-ins with law while with the Bears.
Johnson Sr. doesn't expect his son to be charged for anything with this latest crime.
"I don't think anything will come of it," he said.
Johnson said he just wants to remain a positive influence in Tank's life while he waits out the suspension and eventually tries to sign with another team.
"I want him to keep his chin up, his head strong and keep in shape," he said. "I don't want him to get caught up in this little misdemeanor. He needs to focus on the big picture for his life."
Meanwhile, Tank Johnson exaggerated and fabricated some stories about his childhood in Gary and his father, according to his aunt and other family members.
Chris Johnson, Tank's aunt, was infuriated by a line in a column in the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana on Tuesday that said that Johnson Sr. had been "in and out of prison."
Chris Johnson is Terry Johnson Sr.'s older sister.
"You can't fabricate things and you can't go around making up accusations and building up stories based on your family," said Chris, who lives in Gary.
Said Terry Sr.: "I've never been in prison."
A profile on Tank Johnson in the Chicago Sun-Times on Aug. 10, 2004, said that Terry Sr. had spent time in prison in Texas when Tank was young. It also quoted Tank extensively about his parents' drug use. His mother's name is Natalie Mobley.
Chris Johnson said the drug allegations are "serious accusations. They aren't true. My brother has never been a drug addict. We need to clear my brother and my parents' name."
Howard Johnson, Terry's father, said he might have been in a "little trouble in Texas but he never served time in prison."
A criminal background check on Terry Johnson Sr. showed a narcotics violation involving marijuana in 2004 and some minor traffic offenses. A person from Intelius, the company used for the background check, said generally they go back 10 years, though older major offenses can show up.
Terry said the narcotics offense was a misdemeanor and it involved marijuana "rolling papers."
"That was supposed to be expunged," he said. "I need to take care of that."
Howard Johnson said the idea that Terry spent time in prison has caused a great deal of pain for both him and his wife, Alice.
"All this publicity about the family is just ridiculous," he said. "Every time I look in the papers, it's just a bunch of bull (deleted)."
Said Alice about Terry's alleged drug use and prison time: "It's all a bunch of lies."
When asked why the family didn't try to clear up Terry's criminal record when this started in 2004, Chris Johnson said: "We are private people. We just hoped it would go away."
Terry said Tank's memory about his childhood is hazy and not accurate.
Terry moved to Houston, to find work, when Tank was six weeks old. That was in 1981. Terry divorced Mobley when he lived in Texas. Five years later, Terry moved to Arizona, where he now resides.
Tank spent time in Gary, Minnesota (with his mother) and then he moved in with Terry in Arizona when Tank was in kindergarten.
He was returning to his stepmother's house on Friday in Arizona when he was arrested for speeding.
"I don't know how the stories got out about me," Terry said. "He was such a young kid when we divorced. I think what happened was when he got to Chicago he was forced to guess or speculate about what happened to him when he was asked by reporters. In fairness to his mother and me, he probably never should've said anything about us."
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/sports/447260,281SPT4.article
