Larry Johnson apologizes; Chiefs ask him to stay away

By KENT BABB

The Kansas City Star

MONTY DAVIS

Larry Johnson's No. 27 jersey was left hanging on his locker unused today.

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Chiefs running back Larry Johnson issued an apology today but has been asked to stay away from team activities, and he is not at team headquarters as the Chiefs returned to practice during their off week.

It is not a suspension but is similar to the punishment Johnson faced after last year’s bye week, when the Chiefs benched him after a series of arrests.

A team statement stated that the Chiefs are “continuing to investigate the alleged comments made by Larry Johnson. Until that review is complete, the Chiefs have instructed Larry to refrain from practicing with the Chiefs or participating in other team activities.”

Johnson posted demeaning comments, directed at Chiefs coach Todd Haley, on his Twitter profile hours after Sunday’s 37-7 loss to the Chargers. Johnson used a gay slur in one of his Twitter posts while responding to a follower, and he used another gay slur Monday after telling reporters he wasn’t speaking publicly until Thursday.

Here is the entire text of Johnson’s apology, which was issued this afternoon in a statement by his agent to The Kansas City Star.

“First of all, I want to apologize to the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL, Commissioner Goodell, the Chiefs organization, Coach Todd Haley, his staff, and my teammates for the words I used yesterday. I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said.

“I also want to apologize to all the kids who view athletes as role models. I was not a good role model yesterday and hopefully I can become a better role model. We all make mistakes, and the challenge is to learn from them. I will do my best to learn from this one as I move toward becoming a better person, teammate, and member of the Kansas City Chiefs team and community.”

Posted on Tue, Oct. 27, 2009 12:44 PM

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