IN AN EMOTIONAL INTERVIEW,
CHAD JOHNSON TALKS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE BEING RELEASED FROM THE MIAMI DOLPHINS
INSIDE THE NFL Remembers
NFL Films President Steve Sabol
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®
NEW YORK (September 19, 2012) Chad Johnson sits down with James Brown and Cris Collinsworth in an emotional first interview since being released from the Miami Dolphins on this week’s INSIDE THE NFL. The episode premieres tonight, Sept. 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
Also on tonight’s episode, INSIDE THE NFL remembers the President and one of the founders of NFL Films, Steve Sabol, who sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 69.
Brown anchors INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME along with All-Pro NFL greats Collinsworth and Phil Simms serving as expert analysts. INSIDE THE NFL, now in its 34th season, airs every Wednesday night through the NFL season on SHOWTIME, with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME® and availability on SHOWTIME On Demand.
INSIDE THE NFL is produced by CBS Sports and NFL Films. The executive producers are Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports and NFL Films. Pete Radovich Jr., the Emmy Award-winning Creative Director for CBS Sports, serves as coordinating producer.
Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:
On the mistakes he has made…
JOHNSON: First off, I had an altercation with my wife. We all know, it’s no secret. And the consequences to that altercation with my wife was me being released.
BROWN: Do you think that was the reason although the coach was saying that wasn’t necessarily it?
JOHNSON: That was the reason. There is no need to blow smoke up my ass. First off, I lost two things that I love, honestly. Football, I love, you know that. You know the way I played the game. I enjoyed it. I had fun with it. Being married, being a husband, being a lover, was an honor. And I lost that. And you know that saying, they always have that saying, ‘You never know what you have until its gone.’ And now I finally know what they mean. I lost two of the things that really meant the most to me, that someone completed my world, completed me period. But I just hadn’t made that transition to where I needed to be the best man that I could, or best husband that I could. I didn’t make it all the way, fully.
BROWN: You indicated that you are working on you and you say you are doing that in a structured program. Elaborate what you mean ‘working on me’ and ‘in a structured program.’ How?
JOHNSON: I am in a structured program. For one, I’m taking classes, anger management classes. I’m trying to find out how can I channel my anger when I’m in situations to where I would pop off? How can I diffuse those situations, trigger points?
On reconciling with his wife…
JOHNSON: You know what’s funny? Is when you say that and I think about life in general and some of the things that you fought (pointing to Collinsworth) and some of the things you fought for (points to Brown). The struggle, all we’ve been through, we’ve all struggled, but we’ve all fought to get to a certain thing or something that we wanted. Like what I went through and fought for when it came to football. And I think to myself, do I walk away that easy or do I fight for what I love? Like the game of football, I’m not giving up on that, but I lost it. So I lost my wife, do I fight for her? Yes.
BROWN: You indicated on TV that you did not initiate an altercation with your wife but now you are saying you did have an altercation with your wife. Is that part of the process?
JOHNSON: Yeah of course. I don’t think I said that though on TV. It is what it is. I took full responsibility for it. I apologized for it.
COLLINSWORTH: So you’re not blaming your wife at all?
JOHNSON: I take full responsibility for everything always. Always will, always have. Where do I go from here? I think about it. I’ve got to work on Chad. Chad has to work on Chad. Chad has to go deep down inside and figure out where he went wrong. At what point did you lose focus on what’s most important? Like especially the game of football… At some point I had drifted off track away from that and being one of the best at what I do. Not only being the best at what I do, but I would tell you what I’m getting ready to do, and I would do it.
Following are thoughts on the passing of Steve Sabol:
COLLINSWORTH: You have to think about Steve through a child’s eyes. We all fell in love with the game, at least I did, watching those highlights in slow motion…We used to play slow motion football and hum that song. We would be ru-u-u-u-nning (in slow motion). Where would you have gotten that from but from NFL Films? He made you fall in love with the game on an emotional level with the work that they did. I just don’t know if you can compliment a man more than that.
SIMMS: Steve Sabol was such a part of everything in the NFL…He treated everybody with kindness and he had respect for all human beings. That was his greatest trait.
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