Florida State QB punches women after a racial slur

[Halldan1]

Ex-Florida State QB: She dropped N-word before video punch
By Post Wire Report

July 7, 2015 | 9:57am

De'Andre Johnson was dismissed from the Florida State football program on July 6 following the release of stunning video footage showing him punching a female bar patron in the face. Photo: AP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State was dismissed freshman quarterback De’Andre Johnson from the team hours after prosecutors released video showing him punching a woman at a bar.

In a statement late Monday, coach Jimbo Fisher announced Johnson’s immediate dismissal. The quarterback had been suspended after the June 24 assault. Johnson has been charged with misdemeanor battery.

In the security camera video released by the State Attorney’s Office, it appears the woman and Johnson were trying to get a position at the bar, and Johnson jostled her.

The woman raises a fist and shouts at Johnson before he grabs her fist and holds it down. She then raises her other hand and swings. It’s not clear whether she made contact, but Johnson responds by punching her in the face while still grabbing her other hand. She staggers, and her nose begins bleeding.

Warning: Graphic images



A representative for Johnson alleged the woman used a racial slur that precipitated the violent incident.

“Get off me, you f–king n—–,” the woman said, according to a statement given to TMZ by the rep, who said witnesses at the bar will back up that account.

“While it is clear from the video that De’Andre Johnson was not the initial aggressor, his family wants to take the lead in helping him learn and grow from this experience,” reads a statement released by Johnson’s lawyer. “He is currently participating in community service, and faith-based programs focused on battered women, substance abuse, and the empowerment of children.

“De’Andre is extremely embarrassed by this situation and would like to express his heartfelt apologies to everyone, including those who were directly affected, Coach Fisher and his teammates, the entire Florida State University community, as well as his family and friends.”

The freshman would be eligible to play right away if he transfers to a FCS program.

With AP

 

[Halldan1]

Obviously his punching the women is 100% wrong. And whatever penalty he faces is earned. But how does she walk away from this with no charges being filed against her? She threw the first punch. The fact that she's a women has no bearing on the law.

 

[Pirate6711]

Obviously his punching the women is 100% wrong. And whatever penalty he faces is earned. But how does she walk away from this with no charges being filed against her? She threw the first punch. The fact that she's a women has no bearing on the law.

Because he was the aggressor. He pinned her to the bar and he forcefully grabbed her. Her hand grazing his face and she was trying to get away shouldn't justify what he did and shouldn't result in criminal charges against her.

 

[Halldan1]

He deserves everything he gets. But she called him a racial slur. Closed a fist and when he grabbed the closed fist she punched him with her other hand.

She's no innocent here.

 

[Pirate6711]

So she should just sit back and take whatever is going to be given to her?? No way. Somebody defending themselves should be allowed to do so, especially when they are in such a vulnerable position. He pinned her against the bar, grabbed her, and kept going at her. She did nothing out of the ordinary in defending herself. But by doing so, she got jacked in the face, called a criminal here, called much worse in other places, and is being blamed for FSU losing a precious quarterback.

 

[mjs428]

I agree with Dan. He was 100% wrong but from that video, she was the one who initiated the fight and punched him

 

[hallgrad80]

I agree with you Dan that the woman should also face similar charges as she clearly was the aggressor and did assault him. I would venture to say that as a true freshman Johnson is probably not 21 , the legal age to drink in Florida and if he was drinking and used a false ID to either get in the club or ordered drinks he could face other charges.

With all the attention focused on violence by athletes you would think that these kids would just walk away from any confrontation like this as its a no win situation for them.

 

[Pirate6711]

I agree with Dan. He was 100% wrong but from that video, she was the one who initiated the fight and punched him

How is being pinned to a bar and forcefully grabbed by somebody initiating a fight?

Oh, and the n-word accusation is coming from the precious innocent quarterback's PR rep.

 

[Pirate6711]

I agree with you Dan that the woman should also face similar charges as she clearly was the aggressor and did assault him. I would venture to say that as a true freshman Johnson is probably not 21 , the legal age to drink in Florida and if he was drinking and used a false ID to either get in the club or ordered drinks he could face other charges.

With all the attention focused on violence by athletes you would think that these kids would just walk away from any confrontation like this as its a no win situation for them.

Or not start a fight because somebody happens to be in line ahead of him at a bar.

 

[SPK145]

What about those bartenders? Did nothing, no security, etc. Disgraceful.

 

[Flnj86]

If you are a quarterback at FSU, then you are above the law. History repeats itself.

 

[batts]

Based on the video, Johnson rudely bumped into the woman and pinned her momentarily against the bar so that he can selfishly create a space for himself at the bar. Once Johnson cleared space for himself at the bar, it appeared that he wanted no further involvement with the woman. The woman then reacted aggressively towards Johnson because she didn't appreciate being jostled and pinned by him. She raised her fist at him in a threatening manner and then eventually slapped at him with her fist. Johnson reacted by punching the woman solidly in the face. It appeared to me that Johnson used way more force and violence than he should have under the circumstances. However. the woman was wrong in confronting Johnson aggressively after being jostled. Bottom line: both parties were at fault. However, I feel that Johnson was more at fault based on the fact that he initially rudely jostled and pinned the woman, and the degree of force he used which resulted in injuries to the woman.

 

[Halldan1]

I'll give an example of what you do if you're the man in this type situation.

Many, many years ago when the Big East was in its infancy the Booster Club rented a suite across from the Garden for 4 days. The hotel at that time was called the Penta.

We would get about 5-10 guys to share the cost and would then have parties each night inviting some SHU fans we saw at the games.

Each morning one or two of us bought breakfast for the group. One particular morning it was my turn along with my friend who came with me. On the way back to the hotel with the food I saw a old lady dressed in rags sitting on the ground (it was March). I took my breakfast and put it on the ground next to her and walked away. About 30 seconds later I got hit by an umbrella in the back of the head. My first instinct was to turn and punch whomever had the umbrella in the face. But then I saw it was the old lady. She started to scream at me while continuing to swing her umbrella. At that point I just ran away but she followed me. So I went into a store, but so did she, still cursing and swinging the umbrella.

My friend who was with me was laughing his ass off. Finally I took the umbrella from her and threw it across the store. That worked as she went to retrieve the umbrella giving me a chance to get away from her.

That's what you do with a women even if she is the aggressor. Clearly this old lady was unstable but short of defending your life you just don't hit a women.

 

[Halldan1]

Based on the video, Johnson rudely bumped into the woman and pinned her momentarily against the bar so that he can selfishly create a space for himself at the bar. Once Johnson cleared space for himself at the bar, it appeared that he wanted no further involvement with the woman. The woman then reacted aggressively towards Johnson because she didn't appreciate being jostled and pinned by him. She raised her fist at him in a threatening manner and then eventually slapped at him with her fist. Johnson reacted by punching the woman solidly in the face. It appeared to me that Johnson used way more force and violence than he should have under the circumstances. However. the woman was wrong in confronting Johnson aggressively after being jostled. Bottom line: both parties were at fault. However, I feel that Johnson was more at fault based on the fact that he initially rudely jostled and pinned the woman, and the degree of force he used which resulted in injuries to the woman.

IMO that sums it up perfectly.

 

[Pirate6711]

So what should she have done when he went after her and grabbed her? Just stood there and taken it because a big guy was pissed off he had to wait in line? She couldn't flee (he was holding her and she was pinned against the bar). Nobody was coming to her aid.

 

[Halldan1]

If a women feels threaten she should walk away and get help if that's possible. Never attack a person or make racial slurs to someone who could do you harm. That's just plain stupid.

There were alternatives to what she did. Her course of action was plain wrong and she is only getting away with it because she is a female.

The QB was a jerk and his pushing to get to the bar as wrong as it was is not an excuse to throw fists. If it was there would be a fight in every bar every night of the year.

 

[Pirate6711]

If a women feels threaten she should walk away and get help if that's possible.

And when she's being prevented from walking away, like she was in this case?

 

[cernjSHU]

Obviously his punching the women is 100% wrong. And whatever penalty he faces is earned. But how does she walk away from this with no charges being filed against her? She threw the first punch. The fact that she's a women has no bearing on the law.

I completely disagree with you Dan. He is obviously doing something to her to cause her to turn around. He initially touches the woman first by grabbing her arm. He initiates the physical confrontation. She at that point is physically handled by him and at that point she punches him to get him off her. As the little man that he is, he then clocks her in the face. I don't care what she called him. He had no right to physically touch her. No charges should be brought against her. This piece of garbage thinks that if someone calls him a racial slur, he has the right to hit a woman. The N word does not give carte blanche to assault people ever!

He is such a punk after hitting her in the face, she didn't even drop. What a punk.

 

[batts]

I completely disagree with you Dan. He is obviously doing something to her to cause her to turn around. He initially touches the woman first by grabbing her arm. He initiates the physical confrontation. She at that point is physically handled by him and at that point she punches him to get him off her. As the little man that he is, he then clocks her in the face. I don't care what she called him. He had no right to physically touch her. No charges should be brought against her. This piece of garbage thinks that if someone calls him a racial slur, he has the right to hit a woman. The N word does not give carte blanche to assault people ever!

He is such a punk after hitting her in the face, she didn't even drop. What a punk.

I disagree in part. After Johnson forced his way to the bar and manhandled her in the process, he turned away from her. He had no right to bully his way to the bar and shove her aside. The woman took offense at being shoved and raised her fist towards Johnson at a time when Johnson was no longer menacing her. She then slapped at and struck Johnson. She bears a small part of the blame because she should have not confronted Johnson physically. Johnson bears the lions share of the blame for initiating contact with her and then using excessive force in reaction to her striking him. She gave him a powder puff slap whereas he struck her with enough force to injure her.

 

[HALL85]

Bottom line is that there is a lot of ambiguity here, but he's a damn college football player who should know that his strength in that situation dwarfs what she could possibly do. You just don't do that even if she slaps you...period. He was the original aggressor and under no circumstances do you punch a woman unless you are in danger of getting seriously hurt. Also, without the context of the entire conversation I would dismiss an accusation of a slur until the entire exchange is known.

 

[Marc1996]

Looked at the full video on youtube. The girl initiated contact the whole time. Johnson was trying to get by her to an open place at the bar and wasn't even facing her. The girl feels the jostle and starts moving to her left to cut Johnson off. As they reach the open space at the same time, the girl immediately turns into him and begins the verbal (alleged) and physical assault. There were allegations of a knee to the groin that looks plausible based on the footage. Obviously do not know what preceded this encounter. Equally obvious that Johnson's use of force was over the top. However, the girl does not appear to be blameless in this encounter. As for Johnson, he should have listened to comedian Bill Burr -

 

[JIMSOULS]

Perhaps people like her should stop calling African Americans the N-word. That way they wouldn't get punched.

 

[cernjSHU]

Perhaps people like her should stop calling African Americans the N-word. That way they wouldn't get punched.

Hmmm. You think she deserve to get hit assuming she called him the N- word? Really? When did words come to justify a physical assault on a woman? Are there any other magic words that allow a man to punch a woman in the face or is it just the N- word?

No justification at all. Oh btw, what is an 18 yr old doing at a bar?

 

[Halldan1]

There's no winners in this.

The player got kicked out of school and the resulting consequences of his actions will follow him for a good deal of his life.

The women, even without legal proceedings will be embarrassed by her conduct and probably for her alleged choice of words.

Florida State once again has been embarrassed by one of their athletes. Not an unusual occurrence in the world of college sports. But when it happens with the frequency that it does in Tallahassee then the school deserves what it's getting. Although honestly I'm sure they'll accept the tradeoff as long as the bottom line is WINNING BB or FB games at any cost.

 

[Halldan1]

What they're saying at Florida State....

http://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/deandre-johnson-suspended.23451/

 

[Pirata]

If you look closely at the video you see a slight delay between the time she throws her punch which misses (Note that his head does not move as she throws her punch) and when he responds by throwing his punch which lands.

That delay is critical. Without a delay, there is an argument that his punch was a reasonable reaction to a threat. With the delay, there is an argument that he made a conscious decision to punch her. Pre-meditation can be established in split seconds if a DA (or Jury) believes he had a enough time to decide.

I think the battery charge will stick. Given he drew blood, a civil suit is likely and good for at least $5-$10K.

She is no sweetheart but will come up on the better side of this.

I'd be curious to know the blood alcohol of both of them but that it is not likely to be made known.

I'd also be curious to know if they had any interaction prior to what was caught on camera.

The racial slur is great fodder for the press but largely irrelevant.

Johnson screwed up his entire life in the blink of an eye. Sad.

 

[hbkmyr]

They really need to do better character checks on the players they recruit at FSU.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13234576/dalvin-cook-florida-state-seminoles

 

[Flnj86]

Winning is all that matters at some schools.

 

[Vince]

Someone has yet to address what is a 19yo freshman doing at a bar at 2AM?

 

[hallball95]

love me a good pirate hoops chat