Former FSU quarterback De’Andre Johnson said in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America that the alleged use of racial slurs by a woman inside a Tallahassee bar did not justify his punching her in the face.
“It doesn’t matter,” Johnson told host Michael Strahan. “What matters is that I shouldn’t have raised my hand to her.”
Florida’s “Mr. Football” last year spoke contritely, stating: “I totally should have walked away, I am ashamed of that. I’m sorry. I apologize to the lady in the incident, to her family, to my family, to my mother. I know I wasn’t raised that way.”
The 19-year-old’s mother appeared with him on the show. She told Strahan that after learning about the incident she cried for days. “I wanted to jump through the phone and ring his neck,” she added.
Last week Breitbart News reported that Johnson, an incoming freshman and standout high school football player, was charged with battery following the June 24 incident when he punched the woman.
Johnson’s Attorney Jose Baez claimed that his client was harassed by the woman’s racial slurs and “tried to deescalate the situation” but the woman “kneed him in the groin area” and “took another swing before he retaliated.”
Johnson maintained during the interview, “What you saw in the video is not who I am. I would like to say to her that I am severely sorry. No words can describe this feeling.”
Tuesday, Breitbart News further reported that another FSU football player, Dalvin Cook faces battery charges for punching a woman outside of a bar in Tallahassee.
Not surprisingly, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher has banned his players from going to bars.
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