A week after getting 30 days in prison for smacking his attorney on the butt, Chad Johnson was released from jail today. Johnson apologized to the judge whose courtroom he made the questionable act in, and was subsequently released.
Johnson was in court last week due to a probation violation in a domestic violence case against ex-wife and reality TV star Evelyn Lozada. Johnson, who was accused of head-butting Lozada, pleaded no contest to the charges. Johnson’s probation violation stemmed from him not meeting his probation officer. After agreeing to a plea deal to avoid jail time, Johnson made the mistake of getting too comfortable, and patted his attorney on the behind after being asked if he was satisfied with the efforts by his representation. This harmless and care-free gesture led to an outburst of laughter from the courtroom. The judge, sensing Johnson wasn’t taking the proceedings seriously, threw out the plea deal, and sentenced Johnson to 30 days. Many thought the judge overstepped her boundaries, but she insists that Johnson showed no respect to the serious nature of the situation. Johnson acknowledged his wrong doings in court, and said he had time to reflect and think about his actions that landed him behind bars while serving his time over the past week.
During his career, Johnson became one of the most well-known players in the league, and one of the most productive. He has made six Pro Bowls, and has over 11,000 receiving yards in his career. Now that he is free, Johnson hopes that he will get another chance to finish off his NFL career the right way, something in which he spoke about on ESPN’s First Take a few weeks ago.
