Florida State freshman quarterback De’Andre Johnson has been suspended indefinitely after breaking undisclosed team rules. Sources tell ESPN that he punched a female student in the face after an altercation at a bar Wednesday night.
According to the sources, Johnson was involved in an argument with the woman after she cut in front of him while they were waiting to order drinks at a bar near the FSU campus. Witnesses told police the woman raised her arms and then Johnson grabbed them and punched her in the face.
Johnson, from First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Florida, has not been charged with a crime. Police did not interview Johnson on Wednesday night because he had left the bar. Tallahassee attorney Tim Jansen, who has represented FSU student-athletes in the past, told ESPN.com on Thursday that he was unaware of the incident.
Johnson was not thought to be a serious threat to earn the starting job and this bit of bad press certainly won’t help. If there’s one school where a quarterback should be on his very best behavior, it’s Florida State.
Also, there is no situation that gets sideways quicker than a bar counter line-cut. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. People do NOT react reasonably.
Of course, it usually never escalates to quite this level.
It also appears the much-maligned Tallahassee Police Department is making some interesting choices.
A Tallahassee Police Department spokesman sent a heavily redacted incident report to ESPN.com on Thursday. The incident report redacted the alleged suspect’s name and a witness’ name. The woman’s name was not redacted.
What? No way.
[H/T: ESPN]