Well if the Colts are smart they can just word it to where Johnson is actually in the wrong here. What I mean is, they could state that due to Johnson’s past, the Colts allowed Johnson to play for them while knowing and agreeing to their no tolerance policy, and that breaking this agreement that would result in his departure from the team. Therefore, no matter what Johnson was in trouble for, he would be released and the Colts would bear no liability in the matter from any end.

But that would be the smart thing to do, but what do I know?

which was 1 year 370K (league min for a 2nd year player) minus the one week he got paid for so about 350K.

They can’t really argue that the Colts killed is market value because his market this offseason would have consisted of the Colts and no one else, because he doesn’t have the 3 years of service needed to even be a restricted free agent. After he signed on as a rookie up until the Colts cut him or he had played 3 seasons the Colts were the only team he can play for (exclusive rights free agent).

  The loophole here is probably as KR says in the wording. If they say they cut him for being arrested and charged that is VERY different from the substance abuse issue. Testing positive for something.. and being arrested are totally different matters..

I can understand why his lawyer is fighting in. Johnson doesn’t have much else at this point if no one else has picked him up..

Many things about the allegations of when he got pulled over and arrested just don’t make sense. First off, I don’t know if anyone here knows any pot heads. I do simply because the town where I grew up, Lawrence, Kansas (home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks), has an obscene amount of weed in it. People who are stoned DON’T SPEED! They drive slower than usual. I’ve yet to even hear an example of this happening. I don’t really want to question the cop that pulled him over, but I’m starting to wonder if it really went down like it was reported..

that the Colts wouldn’t have covered themselves in his contract. They knew about his past and took a chance. I find it difficult to believe that there wouldn’t be some sort of loop hole in case (with the high probabilty) something like this occured.

So, there is probably a clause which covers either his getting arrested and/or violating the substance abuse policy. I would be surprised if there wasn’t. And, if there isn’t, maybe the Colts need to find themselves a new attorney.

  that is strange in this whole affair is my understanding of his college problems had NOTHING to do with drugs or stuff of that nature, but with problems with charges with date rape.. (and I am female and I think a lot of date rape charges are regret after the fact… easier to cry foul than accept you were stupid)

  if a girl makes a charge they have to take it seriously irrelevant of the circumstances or they look like they are covering it up..

Now I don’t know what the exact circumstances were(haven’t checked out the link) but as above there are as many cases of abuse by the girls as legitimate complaints.

  ‘confining against their will’ well that is pretty vague and could be very he said she said. These situations are ugly and there is usually a lot more to it. Some student codes of conduct are pretty severe and how they are enforced can be very biased (i am faculty so I have seen how stupid this gets on occasion at my university) Since there weren’t any criminal charges, it makes me very suspicious.

he had issues. Look at some of the morons with legal trouble in the league now. Most of them showed signs of it in college and were still drafted. No one would touch Ed until Paterno called up the Colts and vouched for him enough for them to give him the bare minimum contract.

that they knew he had problems – I don’t care WHAT kind of problems they were – so the Colts put him on a short leash. VERY short leash. ANY violation warranted their actions, according to their terms. And believe me – I have no doubt that they made his situation PERFECTLY clear to him.

Bottom line, he screwed up. Poor decision making. I am sick of everyone trying to blame the team for this. He’s a friggin adult. There are friggin’ consequences for all our actions – why not his? And yes, I believe the consequences fit the action(s) – BECAUSE HE KNEW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD BE before he made his choice. That’s better than an average person gets.

So what’s with all of the whining?

\rant