CHAD FINALLY CONCEDES THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED
After our January report regarding the locker room brouhaha sparked by receiver Chad Johnson during halftime of the Mean Machine's playoff loss to the Steelers, Johnson called a press conference to reiterate his position that "nothing happened."
Now, he's singing a different tune.
Here's a quick refresher as to the story we broke on January 10: Johnson, upset regarding the scarcity of passes thrown his way in the first half, got into an altercation with receivers coach Hue Jackson moments before the team was due to go back to the field for the third quarter. At one point, Johnson had Jackson in a headlock. Coach Marvin Lewis intervened, and Johnson took a swing at him. (There's a difference of opinion as to whether Johnson was swinging specifically at Lewis, or whether he was flailing wildly as Lewis approached.)
Johnson's initial response to the report was as follows: "That sounds like drama. At halftime, I was getting an IV. Nothing happened. Why don't you talk to the coaches, they're all down there today."
Johnson also denied that he had any type of an altercation with a coach.
But in a recent item penned by our good pal (eye roll) Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com, Johnson changes his tune.
"There are just times, and that was one of the unfortunate ones, where my emotions definitely can get the better of me," Johnson told Pasquarelli. "One of the things I worked hard on conditioning in the offseason was my temper. I think I've gotten better. I know I'm a better player and, hopefully, a better person, too, in some areas I had to get better at."
Though Johnson reiterates his denial that the incident turned physical, why would he be speaking with such contrition is there was nothing about which to be contrite? Surely, he didn't conclude that he needed to control his temper merely because he was running his mouth. Moreover, his more recent words have a far darker tone than his "I was getting an IV" crap from January.
And it's obvious Johnson's anger management has had no impact on his me-first mindset. This year, he's taking aim at the single-season receiving touchdown record of 22.
"I've got to do something," Johnson said, "that is really extraordinary, that burns up the record books."
How about focusing less on yourself and more on your team, Chad? Indeed, there are still folks in the locker room who believe that, if you'd kept yourself under control during halftime of that loss to the Steelers, the Lombardi Trophy might be residing in another city that sits on the banks of the Ohio River.
