Chad Johnson and WR coach involved in halftime fight?

[redsfan30]

I sure hope this isn't true.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Chad: There was no fight

By Mark Curnutte and Paul Daugherty
Enquirer staff writers

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson today denied reports that he was involved in a locker room fight at halftime on Sunday during the Bengals' playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When asked about a report from the Web site profootballtalk.com that claims Johnson was involved with an altercation with receivers coach Hue Jackson, and then swung at head coach Marvin Lewis, Johnson said nothing happened.

“That sounds like drama," Johnson said. "At halftime, I was getting an IV. Nothing happened. Why don’t you talk to the coaches, they’re all down there today.”

The Bengals had no comment.

“We don’t comment on rumors,” Bengals public relations director Jack Brennan said.

Citing an unidentified league source, profootballtalk.com reported that several Bengals players witnessed an altercation between Johnson and Jackson as halftime concluded.

Jackson did not return a message left this morning on his office phone at Paul Brown Stadium.

The site profootballtalk.com reported: “Per the source, the last few minutes of intermission were ticking away, when the players were startled by the sight and sound of a helmet slamming against the glass pane of the training room door. Johnson and (wide) receivers coach Jackson were engaged in an altercation,” according to the Web site.

“At one point, Johnson was seen holding Jackson in a headlock.

“Coach Marvin Lewis entered the training room to intervene, and Johnson (per the source) took a swing at him. Eventually, receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh broke up the skirmish, within a minute or so of the team exiting the locker room for the second half.”

The Bengals led 17-14 at halftime but lost 31-17 in the wildcard game.

The Web site reported that Johnson was unhappy about the lack of passes thrown to him, three with two completions in the first half.

Johnson caught two of the three attempts in his direction in the second half to finish with four receptions for 59 yards.

In post-game interviews Sunday, defensive tackle John Thornton was among the handful of players who talked in general about the lack of cohesion and that the team concept was lost and must be regained.

Thornton, reached this morning via cell phone, said, “I can’t confirm or deny anything that happened in the locker room.”

Thornton did say Sunday that the issue did not involve rookie players.

In his post-game comments Sunday, Lewis alluded, generally, to a problem, saying, “We came in here as a football team and we need to leave out of here as a football team and understand that it's about working through the tough times. You work through the critical points in the game and do you job.”

[Joseph]

Just heard about this on Lance this afternoon.

Shocking in some ways really.

Such a beautiful season is tasting sour for so many right now.

[RedFanAlways1966]

By Mark Curnutte and Paul Daugherty
Enquirer staff writers

Is this The Cincinnati Enquirer or The National Enquirer? It seems as though a story like this is more of a National Enquirer story.

Citing an unidentified league source

That confirms it! It must be The National Enquirer b/c that is their fav-line to justify printing a story and avoiding a lawsuit for printing it.

[Reds Fanatic]

I have a really hard time believing this is true. If Chad really took a swing at Marvin do you really think Marvin would have let him start the 2nd half. Marvin is such a no-nonsense coach he would have dealt with something like that immediately. I can't say there was not some argument but I really can't imagine this whole story is true. I also visited that website and that whole site looks questionable. The site is a bunch of ads with a few football rumors mixed in the middle.

[CTA513]

Johnson seemed normal in the second half, it was players on defense that were yelling at each other on the sideline.

[Joseph]

Lapham just confirmed that he at least believes it, FWIW.

[traderumor]

In his post-game comments Sunday, Lewis alluded, generally, to a problem, saying, “We came in here as a football team and we need to leave out of here as a football team and understand that it's about working through the tough times. You work through the critical points in the game and do you job.”

From bengals.com "1-10-06, 3:55 p.m. A heck of a start to the ’05 offseaon for No. 85. But Chad Johnson isn’t as down as you think he’d be. The man he calls Captain Kirk, Carson Palmer as the commander of the Bengals starship offense, has assured him he’ll be in Los Angeles throwing balls to him in early July. And, he denied he fought coaches and teammates at halftime of Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh: “Then that must means I’m also dating Halle Berry and starring in a Steven Spielberg movie.” "

Also from Bengals.com, the above quote in the Enquirer article and the question that was asked:
http://www.bengals.com/team/quotes060108.asp

Do you feel cheated?
“I feel like we as a football team need to learn from this. We came in here as a football team, and we need to leave here as a football team. We need to understand it is about working through the tough times. You work through the critical points in the game and keep your eye on the target. Do your job. This is a lesson that we needed to learn. We handled the first part of the game, and then we let them right back in the football game.”

So, regardless of the rumor's veracity, this article is playing fast and loose with some facts, not to mention that the quote was in the context of the second half meltdown. Shame, shame, Curnette and Daugherty, especially Curnette who I expect more out of.

[macro]

profootballtalk.com has gotten some stories right in the past, but from what I'm reading, they've also done some tabloid reporting, as well. I'd say that there might have been some words exchanged or something, and the story is being blown out of proportion and sensationalized.

Whatever happened, they have six months to get over it and move on. I'm more concerned with Carson Palmer's leg.

[Joseph]

Chad will hold a presser at 7 PM 'nati time. Will be on 1360 for those interested.

[gonelong]

Originally Posted by Joseph

Chad will hold a presser at 7 PM 'nati time. Will be on 1360 for those interested.

Good, if this stuff isn't true, you have to nip it in the bud or it'll become truth. Since he isn't going to WLW, he'll likely get ripped there by Furman tonight.

GL

[LawFive]

Any further developments?

[Reds Fanatic]

From what I heard Chad denies everything and says he talked to both Marvin and Hue Jackson and they all laughed about it.

[Reds Fanatic]

Here is part of an article from the Bengals website about Johnson's reaction to this:

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5014

Bengaldm got jolted into the offseason Tuesday morning when profootballtalk.com reported that Johnson went on a halftime tirade that included physical confrontations with head coach Marvin Lewis and receivers coach Hue Jackson. Johnson denied the reports Tuesday afternoon. and then held a news conference at Paul Brown Stadium Tuesday night.

"Nothing happened," Johnson said in front of cameras in the hallway outside the Bengals locker room. "We don't have ruckuses."

Johnson said if he did take a swing at Lewis or Jackson as the report said, "(Lewis) would have sat me."

Johnson said that when he spoke to Lewis, Lewis laughed and called it ridiculous.

Although there seems to be indications there was some kind of verbal confrontation, Johnson considers what happened in the locker room tio be the norm for coming up with half-time adjustments.

"How could something small like this affect all the things I've accomplished?" he asked.

Earlier in the day, Johnson said of the report, “I don’t know where it came from or who said it or what,” Johnson said. “All I know is I was going into the training room (for an IV), and we were just trying to figure out what we were going to do (in the second half)."

That included Johnson's pleas to get the ball after he caught just two balls for 30 yards in the first half. He finished with four for 59 yards, but said he didn't have what he would call a confrontation with the coaches.

Johnson said he’s fine with Lewis and Jackson, and that he spent time with Lewis on Tuesday before the coach had to go into a personnel meeting.

“C’mon,” Johnson said. “Has there ever been a problem there?”

Defensive tackle John Thornton said Tuesday that his postgame comments about not being a complete team had nothing to do with Johnson because he wasn’t with the offense.

“I don’t know if anything happened because we’ve only got seven minutes at the half,” Thornton said. “I’m at the other end of the room with the defense.”

Thornton admitted he was emotional after the elimination loss, and was speaking generally about his team and how it didn’t respond to Palmer’s injury.

“We can’t be selfish,” Thornton said. “I don’t have a problem with any player on our team. We just have to learn to deal with some things when they go bad.

“I don’t know what happened, or if anything did. Chad is an emotional player. He just wants to make plays. I’m sure if anything happened it’s nothing that the team couldn’t have got over.”

[TeamBoone]

Chad was on the 11 o'clock news and denied all. He said to talk to the coaches if they didn't believe him. There was more to the interview but I didn't catch it all.

BTW, he was wearing a Reds hat... all red with a red embroidered wishbone "C".

[traderumor]

I'm sure Curnette and Daugherty will make things right with their shoddy journalism