Chiefs Larry Johnson to ride the pine after assault charge

Larry Johnson has struggled to demonstrate consistency on the football field, but he’s shown remarkable consistency at his ability to assault women.  Johnson was charged with simple assault on Monday after spitting his drink in a woman’s face and threatening to “kill her boyfriend”.  Lest he be branded as a “quitter”, he made another effort to spit in her face as he was escorted out of a Kansas City nightspot.

The offense was the fourth time in five years that he’s been charged with assaulting a woman.  Johnson is already facing another simple assault rap at a trial scheduled to begin in early December stemming from an incident where he pushed a woman’s face at yet another Kansas City nightclub.  His pattern of deviant behavior has earned him an audience with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York, and that’s never a good thing.

The Chiefs weren’t about to wait for the NFL’s “law and order” commissioner to swing like a hammer—they preemptively announced that Johnson wouldn’t play for the foreseeable future.  Johnson had already been deactivated for the past two games for an unspecified violation of team rules, perhaps related to spending too much time in nightclubs while the Chiefs languish at 1-6.  Team president and GM Carl Peterson issued the following statement, fortunately sparing everyone concerned from talk of a ‘standard of excellence’:

"The case with Larry Johnson has been and continues to be in the hands of the NFL office in New York. We will defer further comment on the matter until that process has run its due course and the league has concluded its own independent investigation.”

"As we have previously indicated, it is in the best interest of both Larry and the Chiefs that Larry focuses his attention on addressing his personal issues. At present, we do not believe Larry can contribute to our team on the field until those issues are resolved.”

Clearly laying the groundwork for his future “redemption” following the obligatory trip to rehab, Johnson issued the following statement last week before the latest censure by the team:

"This is the first time in my life I actually had to stand up, I mean actually woke up and kind of be disgusted with myself and disgusted as far as the way my life and my career is heading right now. In times of darkness, you've got to look for the light and that's what I plan on doing, regardless of what suspensions and fines are being handed down. I will take them as sincerely as they give them out."

Johnson has been a non-factor since signing a $17 million deal that was the biggest ever by the Chiefs.  He’s alternately been injured, suspended or ineffective and clearly the team has a vested interest in giving his time to get his personal issues dealt with.  Ironically, at 1-6 they’re also in a position where they can make a statement by keeping him out of the lineup—something they might not be able to afford were they in playoff contention.