Black Florida State Quarterback on Punching White Woman: Racism Made Him Do It
Donn Marten
July 8, 2015
Former Florida State Seminole quarterback De’Andre Johnson made quite a stir when he was caught on video punching a white woman in a bar and now his attorney is crying racism. The video went viral and the incident led to Johnson being thrown off the team. What is it about Florida State quarterbacks? Jameis Winston, who was the number one pick in the NFL draft despite numerous red flags about his character – or lack thereof – is an accused rapist and petty thief albeit one who hit the jackpot. The same can’t be said of Johnson who is going to have to overcome his own idiotic conduct to find another team to latch on with. That is unless he can manipulate public opinion by playing the race card.
As reported by sports website ESPN in the story “De’Andre Johnson was provoked by woman’s racial epithets, lawyer says”:
Former Florida State quarterback De’Andre Johnson’s attorney, Jose Baez, told NBC News on Tuesday that his 19-year-old client punched a woman in the face after she called him racial epithets and provoked him.
Johnson, a freshman from Jacksonville, Florida, was dismissed from FSU’s team by coach Jimbo Fisher on Monday night, hours after the state’s attorney’s office released surveillance video of him striking the 21-year-old woman in a Tallahassee, Florida, bar on June 24.
Johnson, who was named “Mr. Football” in Florida as a senior at First Coast High School in 2014, is charged with misdemeanor battery. Baez entered a written not guilty plea on his client’s behalf on July 2. Johnson is scheduled to appear at a case management hearing in Leon County Court on July 22.
Appearing on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday, Baez said Johnson was not the initial aggressor, but is “owning this” and trying to learn from the experience.
Baez said the woman raised her fist and shouted “racial epithets” at Johnson after he accidentally made contact with her while they waited to order at the bar.
Baez said Johnson tried to “de-escalate the situation,” but the woman “kneed him in the groin area” and “took another swing before he retaliated.”
“It wasn’t until she struck him twice that he reacted,” Baez told NBC. “But he is very … he is very regretful that he didn’t turn around and walk away immediately.”
The video, which was captured by security cameras in a bar near the FSU campus, shows Johnson trying to push past the woman, who was waiting to order at the bar. The woman turned toward Johnson, who grabbed her right arm after she raised it in a fist. The woman raised her knee and swung at Johnson with her left arm, and then he punched her in the face.
The attorney understands one thing and that is the importance of working the media, hence his popping up on “The Today Show”. One big question is what was Johnson doing in the bar waiting for a drink in the first place because in Florida the legal drinking age is 21 – Johnson is 19. This is just another example of boorish behavior by an FSU thug which seems to be turning into quite the tradition, almost like Chief Osceola trotting out on the horse with his flaming spear. There seem to be special rules in Tallahassee for those who play for the local college team as was seen with the coddling of Winston who is now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ problem.
Could be that Johnson was trolling for a piece of ass and may have been rebuffed but who can really tell from the video. What can be seen is another Seminole football player engaged in bad behavior and that a pattern seems to be developing which is rooted in the very DNA of coach Jimbo Fisher’s program. While Winston was always considered to be crucial to winning – translation: money – he was able to curry favorable treatment as well as the good fortune to have his ass covered by university and local officials. Johnson who is a freshman can easily be thrown under the bus for at least the time being to show that the college has learned from the bad publicity that swirled around Winston.
However, now that it is out and flying around the media, the race card will provide a smokescreen and perhaps even pave the way for “Mr. Football” to be invited back with only a slap on the wrist because he is after all the victim in all of this. That if you believe his attorney.
http://downtrend.com/donn-marten/black-florida-state-quarterback-on-punching-white-woman-racism-made-him-do-it
