Statement: "Anthony Johnson Completely Innocent of All Charges"

by Nate Wilcox on Jul 10, 2009 9:25 AM EDT in MMA News

Picture_3_medium From MMAAgents via MMA Frenzy:

"It has come to light that an email is being circulated with false and misleading information pertaining to Mr. Anthony Johnson. On behalf of Mr. Johnson we would like to address this issue. On June 27th Mr. Johnson was arrested in Hayward California and was charged with misdemeanors stemming from an alleged altercation with an ex-girlfriend. Mr. Johnson is completely and unequivocally innocent of all charges. These charges are completely outside the realm of Mr. Johnson’s character; he has no prior criminal record and has never been in trouble with the law. Furthermore, any assertion that the UFC played a part in posting his bail or in covering up the incident is completely untrue. Unfortunately, professional athletes are frequently made the victim of such false accusation. We ask that judgment is withheld until all relevant facts are known."

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Is the part about him calling the cops also false?

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jul 10, 2009 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

+1

Exactly what I was thinking. How can you call the cops yourself, then get arrested, but say that you’re innocent. If this fuckface hit his girl, he should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

by Patrick79x on Jul 10, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey, I’m not saying all of that – I just want to know what happened, and whether I get to go on being an Anthony Johnson fan.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Jul 10, 2009 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey pat—- think for a sec.

Who calls the cops on themselves? Perhaps he called the police because his gf was going batshit, and he didn’t want to hit her, or some other reason. A lot of people automatically side with the woman here, so maybe he got arrested just because hes a muscly black guy.

Basically, stop jumping to conclusions. If he did call the police himself, that should be a giant red flag that the situation is not clear cut, and that you are an asshole for jumping down his throat.

by toxic on Jul 10, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions

The only actual conclusion that I jumped to was that he should have the book thrown at him if he did in fact hit his girl. I stand by that.

by Patrick79x on Jul 10, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

How can you call the cops yourself, then get arrested, but say that you’re innocent.

????

by toxic on Jul 10, 2009 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Is it really that hard to imagine a situation where somebody calls the police and ends up getting arrested but was innocent? Doesn’t seem that hard to me.

And, in addition, the statement from Johnson here does not confirm that he was the one who called the police.

by Kierkegaard on Jul 10, 2009 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions

and you called him a fuckface, its a little early for that. If he hit anyone he should have the book thrown at him. He is trained to hurt people and must be held to a higher standard, but I suspect in this case, it will not be so gray. Either he guilty or she is batshit.

by szucconi on Jul 10, 2009 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Let me attempt to clarify my statement with less emotion/anger:

All other things being equal, a professional fighter should receive higher penalties for assault/violence (against a domestic partner or just a guy in the street) than a non-fighter.

by Patrick79x on Jul 10, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions

A law that gives fighters higher penalties for assault would promote inequality.

by Chuck Sakuraba on Jul 11, 2009 1:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Of course not

Pro athletes are NEVER guilty of any crime with which they are charged. And if they somehow do happen to be guilty they are always punished appropriately and never let off easy like Donte Stallworth was. (Can you detect the hint of sarcasm in this post of mine?)

by Cliff Speed on Jul 10, 2009 9:55 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t think it’s too much to ask to withhold judgment until he has his day in court unless he’s been conviction of behavior like this before.

by ace328 on Jul 10, 2009 10:05 AM EDT reply actions

I feel compelled to chime in on this.

First off, let me say, that I believe any type of domestic abuse is deplorable. Even arguments that get to the point of breaking things and basically losing complete control of one’s emotions. If things are that bad, leave the relationship. I never fully understood why people will stay in relationships where they are so untrusting, that they basically lose their sanity. Now, that said, I do understand that when emotions are involved, that people do “lose it”. That doesn’t make it OK, and if it is happening repeatedly, well, that is where I don’t understand why people stay.

Second, I remember way back when, before many of you were born, when domestic abuse laws were greatly toughened. It wasn’t always the case that any suspected volatile situation resulted in an arrest or some sort of action. I have no doubt that these stricter laws have saved countless lives or at least prevented situations from spiraling out of control.

However, the point I want to make, is, along with the positive results, we also have the opposite. Numerous situations where a person “cries wolf” and uses the law to get at the other person involved. People certainly abuse the legal aspect to screw someone else over. This is unfortunate, as, imo, it dilutes the seriousness of domestic violence/abuse.

Now, I’m not saying that either situation is the case with Johnson, simply that we should let this play out before we admonish him, call for a suspension/termination, or assume him to be innocent. Let’s just let the courts handle it and hope for the situation to be resolved in the best, most appropriate manner.

Why I feel this way: A close friend of mine was dating a crazy, alcoholic girl. We repeatedly tried to let him know that it was a bad situation, but we all know how difficult it can be to convey those sentiments. One night, he was at her apartment, she was drunk as a skunk and they had their typical blowout. He was trying to leave and she was grabbing him from behind and scratching his back. He got mad and punched the wall on his way out the door. Some neighbors had called the police, and they stopped him as he was getting into his car to leave. He didn’t touch her in any way, but he wound up spending the weekend in jail, pleading to a lesser charge, attending a year worth of domestic violence classes, losing his job and spending thousands of dollars in fines, class fees and attorney costs. He basically was trying to do the right thing and he got punished severely, not to mention that this is permanently on his record.

I’m sure we all have stories that go both ways on this and I truly feel the good results outweigh the negatives, but let’s not jump to conclusions here and see what happens.

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Jul 10, 2009 10:46 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs

Rec'd

I too know of a time when the female in a couple I was friends with headbutted a wall and then claimed he had been hit by the male. She was (and still is) Batshit crazy. She is also a cop so it was even more vindictive than a normal woman doing it.

Anyway it is far too easy to trump up an accusation in order to hurt someone with a high profile. The public needs to reserve judgement until guilt is proven. If convicted, said high profile individual should be put away and publicly defamed. If not, I think that the penalties should be harsher for people trying to take advantage of the leverage they can have over someones reputation by serving an almost equal penalty.

by Well Read Idiot on Jul 10, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions