Bears DT Tank Johnson suspended for first 8 games of season

[WoodysGirl]

NEW YORK — Tank Johnson of the Chicago Bears was suspended by the NFL for the first eight games of the 2007 regular season for violating the league's new personal conduct policy.

The defensive tackle recently served a two-month jail stint on a probation violation on gun-related charges.

He's the third player suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell in little more than a month for off-field behavior. In April, Goodell suspended Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for eight games. Jones is appealing his suspension.

Goodell said Johnson's suspension could be reduced to six games if he has no further involvement with law enforcement and undergoes counseling.

After meeting with Goodell last month upon his release, Johnson said he was ready to accept whatever punishment Goodell handed down and that he wants to become the NFL's "Man of the Year," the player honored for being its best citizen.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/4860295.html

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

That's what he deserved, haa haa haa, NO Stank Johnson against us. Julius Jones should have a field day!

 

[Hostile]

The Commish doesn't fool around.

 

[theogt]

First page. w00t!

 

[Yeagermeister]

The Commish doesn't fool around.

Nope but I actually expected a longer suspension.

 

[YosemiteSam]

:jackpot:

 

[theogt]

Nope but I actually expected a longer suspension.

I did too. I guess being convicted and sentenced for a single offense isn't as bad as being involved in, but not arrested or convicted for, multiple offenses.

Then again, I think Pacman's will probably be reduced to 8 weeks.

 

[joseephuss]

I did too. I guess being convicted and sentenced for a single offense isn't as bad as being involved in, but not arrested or convicted for, multiple offenses.

Then again, I think Pacman's will probably be reduced to 8 weeks.

Maybe Goodell meetings with each player had a lot to do with the suspensions. It can't help you when you go to the strip club the night before meeting with the guy passing judgment on you.

 

[theogt]

Maybe Goodell meetings with each player had a lot to do with the suspensions. It can't help you when you go to the strip club the night before meeting with the guy passing judgment on you.

No, it certainly can't. But I'd prefer an employee who works for me who just got out of a strip club over an employee who just got out of the clink.

 

[superpunk]

Having rhyme or reason is overrated, I always say.

Guy serves two months in jail, IIRC got his friend killed (what am I remembering here....)and he gets 8 games.

Guy allegedly bites strippers, among several other minor offenses, which he has yet to be convicted for - 16 games. Possibly more.

Guy assaults another guy on national TV - 5 games.

It's all so clear, fair, and even-handed.

 

[burmafrd]

Why do some so convienently forget what else happened at that strip club? Like the guy that is now paralyzed? Or all the other stupidities that Pacman had committed over a period of YEARS.
Say what you want about the Haynesworth suspension, it was the LONGEST suspension in NFL history for an on the field incident.
But then those that want to spin it ......

 

[joseephuss]

No, it certainly can't. But I'd prefer an employee who works for me who just got out of a strip club over an employee who just got out of the clink.

It is not that he frequents strip clubs. It is that he went the night before one of the biggest meetings in his life. From what I understand, Tank Johnson met with Goodell and presented some ways he was going to change his life. Could be BS, but supposedly he approached the meeting in a professional manner. Pacman didn't and that is partly why he has a 10 game suspension that could end up(more than likely) being longer. And it wasn't the single visit to a strip club the night before the meeting or even the visit in Vegas. Jones has been in numerous incidents that contributed to Goodell's decision even if they weren't all officially listed.

 

[coach316]

The following are incidents in which Adam "Pacman" Jones, or people allegedly associated with him, have been involved since the Tennessee Titans drafted him in April 2005. There is only one charge pending against Jones.

July 13, 2005: Two weeks before training camp is scheduled to begin, Jones is arrested by Nashville police at Titans headquarters. He is charged with assault and felony vandalism stemming from a nightclub altercation.

Sept. 5, 2005: Six days before the season opener at Pittsburgh, Jones attends the annual Nashville Sports Council Kickoff Luncheon. Later, Jones has a loud, verbal tantrum when told he must wait in line for his vehicle, according to witnesses. He does not pay for valet service.

Oct. 25, 2005: Five days before the eighth game of the season, it is alleged by the state of West Virginia that Jones has violated the terms of his probation, going back to a suspended sentence after a barroom brawl during his freshman year at college. A judge extends his probation 90 days.

Feb. 6, 2006: Jones is arrested in Fayetteville, Ga., and charged with possession of marijuana. He is handcuffed after throwing a punch at an officer, according to police, and charged with a felony count of obstruction and two misdemeanors of obstructing police. The drug charge is dismissed in January 2007, although his mother Deborah and a friend, Marcus Bowens, are convicted of possession of marijuana. Jones will appear in court later this month to face the obstruction charges.

March 23, 2006: A Fayette County drug task force SWAT team serves a search warrant at the Georgia home Jones bought for his mother. When Jones steps out of his Corvette, a drug investigator notices that the car reeks of marijuana. Jones admits to police he has been smoking and that it will be several weeks before he is able to pass a drug test.

April 18, 2006: According to Nashville police, who cite surveillance camera footage, Jones is one of 12 people gathered at a gas station when a fight breaks out and gunshots are fired.

Aug. 25, 2006: Jones is arrested in Murfreesboro, Tenn., for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. At the Sweetwater Saloon, he is accused of assault by Toya Garth, who says Jones spit in her face and she spit back. A judge sentences Jones six months probation provided he stays out of further trouble.

Oct. 26, 2006: Jones is cited for misdemeanor assault at Club Mystic, a Nashville nightclub, where he allegedly spits in the face of a female college student. He is suspended for one game by the Titans, on Nov. 5 at Jacksonville.

Feb. 19, 2007: Jones is present when an early morning brawl breaks out at Minxx Gentlemen's Club in Las Vegas. Three people are shot. Club co-owner Robert Susnar claims the shooter -- still at large -- acted on Jones' behalf. Jones denies this. No charges have been brought against Jones.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2790090

 

[burmafrd]

THAT is why Pacman got the long suspension. A pattern of THUGGERY lasting almost 3 years.

 

[superpunk]

THAT is why Pacman got the long suspension. A pattern of THUGGERY lasting almost 3 years.

So you're suggesting that his record punishment is retroactive, and is taking all these incidents into account? Incidents that:

(a) He has never been convicted of, to serve jail time

(b) the league has never seen fit to suspend him for previously, and

(c) include (no doubt to make the list seem worse, as it makes it longer) a verbal tantrum at a valet service, and being "allegedly" present at a fight at a gas station.

The league goes from not giving a crap, to a full-season's suspension. And they (read:Goodell) do it (apparently) retroactively.

I'm waiting on Leonard Little's suspension. After all, Goodell is so damn "fair" - might as well throw Jamal lewis in there, too. Hopefully the length of their suspensions continues to have absolutely no correlation to the severity of their "crime" (even if they've never been convicted).

Thank goodness we've got even-handed Goodell and his clear sets of retribution guidelines to "clean up" the league. What a saint.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

That's what he deserved, haa haa haa, NO Stank Johnson against us. Julius Jones should have a field day!

Don't start celebrating too soon! While the suspension is supposed to be for 8 games, it's probably going to only be for 6 games ...if he stays out of trouble.

Come crunch time, Tank or Stank or whatever you feel comfortable calling him, could be tearing running back's heads off; and have a fresh pair of legs while doing it.

 

[Hostile]

Don't start celebrating too soon! While the suspension is supposed to be for 8 games, it's probably going to only be for 6 games ...if he stays out of trouble.

Come crunch time, Tank or Stank or whatever you feel comfortable calling him, could be tearing running back's heads off; and have a fresh pair of legs while doing it.

He won't be in game shape because he won't be allowed to work out with the team every day. He won't be acclimated to the defensive signals or the new coaches on that side of the ball.

He could just as easily be back as you say and be a complete liability because he hasn't been there. Rarely does someone come back from suspension or injury and simply set the world on fire.

 

[Verdict]

Although I will admit that I am not fully informed of what the Commish considered, it would appear that Tank Johnson's suspension is more lenient than Pac Man's. I do not doubt that Pac Man is a big time thug, and maybe even worse than Tank, but it does not appear that Pac Man has ever been CONVICTED of anything. Tank obviously has.

I think the Commish is getting in way over his head here. I hope he has very good legal counsel, because I think he is eventually going to need it. Then again, maybe there is more to the story than the public is aware.

 

[zeromaster]

If you are trying to convince the person that is determining the suspension that you are actually changing for the better, it usually makes sense to take a professional, contrite, and pro-active approach. Not unlike what Johnson did: he is finding that playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, regardless of the level of talent present. And he said the right things afterwards.

Pac-head seems to take the approach that he is entitled to play sooner, rather than later. He seems unconcerned that the image he's projecting isn't the same as his employer (ultimately the NFL) is trying to promote. If anything, he seems to favor "plausible deniability": he might have been there, but he didn't do nothin'

Remember Maurice Clarett? Another entitled individual. That little episode went well, didn't it?

There are certainly legal arguments to be made as to the manner that the punishment was determined, and how it stacks up against others. But that is largely the affair of legal lifeforms. The league, if it's done it's homework, can be relatively arbitrary as to how it metes out its fines to it's employees within the confines of their policy, until something else comes along to change it. No debate here will affect it.

Perhaps you are hoping for a kinder, gentler commissioner, or maybe an edgier league as a whole. Let's hope that if you get it, a side effect of a more lenient head man doesn't also translate to lower ratings, lower quality of product, lower profits, lower payrolls, and in the end, the need for people like P-Jones to ply their trade in some other fashion. n'Ba is still struggling with an image problem these days. At least SA and Cleveland will provide a chance to raise the bar, depending on how their championship series plays out.

There are people besides the adult form watching this little passion play, and the fine points of the law (as some around here want to debate) are lost on that segment. Once that damage is done, it's rather hard to undo. Sending a message is never pretty, but the complaints are never-ending.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

He could just as easily be back as you say and be a complete liability because he hasn't been there. Rarely does someone come back from suspension or injury and simply set the world on fire.

If you think I'm dialoguing against an Admin ...forget it! Too dangerous for me ...I think I'll stay around to see another post if that's alright with you.

Now if I were talking to any other poster, I'd say... there aren't too many NFL players (on any respective team's payroll), that will just sit back and let themselves become out of shape. Tank may not be able to play in the "games" but there's nothing that says that he can't practice and stay in football shape ready for the next opportunity to play.

Besides, in Tank's position, fresh legs goes a long way at that point in time of the regular season.