The Kansas City Chiefs have reached a
settlement with Larry Johnson, agreeing to reportedly pay the running back for
one of the two weeks he was suspended.
The Chiefs issued a statement Monday afternoon saying that in conjunction with
the NFL Management Council, the NFL Players Association and Johnson, the
matter was settled related to the running back's conduct.
Johnson remains suspended by the team for the November 8 game at Jacksonville
for conduct detrimental to the club. He issued an apology last week for
remarks he made after an October 25 home loss to San Diego. On his Twitter
account that Sunday night, Johnson posted demeaning comments toward Chiefs
head coach Todd Haley and used a gay slur in another post before issuing
another gay remark the next day.
The Chiefs said Johnson will not be permitted to participate in any team
activities or be on team premises until Monday, November 9. The team said it
will have no further comment.
Johnson has had a history of problems off the field during his tenure with the
Chiefs.
In March of this year, Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of disturbing the
peace stemming from two separate incidents last October involving women at
Kansas City nightclubs.
Johnson was subsequently benched by the Chiefs for consecutive weeks following
the initial incident then suspended by the NFL and deactivated by the team to
focus on his personal life after word of the second incident surfaced.
The Penn State product had already faced two previous charges with assaulting
a woman. In 2003 Johnson was accused of aggravated assault and misdemeanor
domestic battery for waving a gun at his ex-girlfriend, but the charges were
dropped because the running back entered a domestic-violence program. In 2005,
Johnson was accused of pushing a woman to the ground at another KC nightspot,
but the charges were later dropped.
So far this season, Johnson has rushed 132 times for 358 yards with no
touchdowns. He also has 12 receptions for 76 yards.
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