Forget the talk -- it's time to cut Johnson now
But this is the same guy who disturbingly tried to rationalize his problems Friday, saying, ''You know in your heart that you're not doing anything wrong. You know, I'm living my life, raising my family and doing the things that make a man a man.'' If Tank is that warped to think firearms create machismo in a family environment, should it surprise us that he and his bodyguard would head deep into the night, hours after Posey appeared in court on a felony charge of marijuana possession, and that a gun would be pulled inside the Ice Bar in trendy, touristy River North and leave Posey dead in a pool of blood?
If not, I'm about ready to give up on Halas Hall and the NFL as reputable operations.
It's bothersome enough that professional football, America's most popular form of sports entertainment, consistently stoops to the lowest forms of off-field behavior. But once again, it's the Bears falling into the slimiest gutter, joining the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers as the most notorious outlaw franchises and hanging a grim sign -- Malice Hall -- on their Lake Forest facility. With the franchise's image in peril, the onus is on general manager Jerry Angelo to not only stop bringing in bad apples -- without much regard for unsavory associations and suspect histories -- but to stop defending the bad apples as good people. How could the Bears not know Johnson was living with a convicted felon? And if they did know, shame on them for overlooking that and his two prior arrests, one involving a gun and both involving nightlife, just because he plays a mean nose tackle.
The GM was in rare, all-over-the-map form when he spoke Friday, a day after authorities raided Johnson's Gurnee home and found a .44 magnum Smith & Wesson revolver, a .50-caliber Desert Eagle handgun, a .308-caliber Winchester rifle, a .45-caliber handgun and two assault-style rifles -- some loaded, none registered -- in a ''COPS''-like scene that involved drugs, Johnson's two children and the arrest of Posey, who once did time for armed robbery. Angelo and coach Lovie Smith deactivated Johnson for today's game against lowly Tampa Bay, circumventing NFL policy by saying (wink-wink) he missed practice time. Yet it was hard not to see a phony when Angelo grew outraged, suddenly lecturing us about the importance of law-abiding discipline and accountabilty. Never mind the convenient amnesia at play, that Angelo drafted Johnson and has continually defended him through his troubles. He was going to shift into high-morality gear anyway, even if his messages no longer resonate.
''We're very disappointed. We're embarrassed by this,'' Angelo said. ''It's unfortunate that it did happen and that it happened to Tank. He's had a history now of doing things, and that history has got to stop. I tell players that it's not their talent that determines their career; it's their character that determines their career. We're very much adamant about that.''
Don't hold your breath. Because minutes later, Angelo was trying to defend Johnson's character. ''We believe in Tank. He's not a bad person. He has made some bad decisions,'' he said. ''Do we have some characters on our team? Yes. But we don't have bad-character people, and I want to make that very clear.''
Wonder if he thought differently when his phone rang in the middle of the night?
For much too long, guns and police matters have been as prevalent as jock straps at Halas Hall, with Angelo contributing to the culture by acquiring players with character glitches. We knew on draft day that Johnson had issues, and in 2½ years here, he has reconfirmed the perception with alarming regularity. Last year, he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months of probation after a nightclub valet saw a handgun in Johnson's SUV. Did Tank learn? Three months later, as he was arrested for aggravated assault and resisting arrest in the wee hours outside a Rush Street club, Johnson allegedly told a police officer, ''You ain't the only one with a Glock. If it wasn't for your gun and your badge, I'd kick your ass.'' Though charges were dropped, the Bears should have recognized the pattern and released Tank then.
When in doubt, ignore the criminal record. No wonder combative attitudes fester in the locker room, where Adewale Ogunleye said of the house raid: ''It's a waste of time and a waste of taxpayers' money.'' Speak for yourself, fella.
Unfortunately, some fans agree. I'm thinking an NFL player could launch an ax-murder spree, and the only public concerns would be his playoff availability and fantasy-league status. The moral outrage that regularly dogs baseball and the NBA doesn't apply to the Teflon-coated NFL, as we saw with Shawne Merriman. In October, he violated the league's steroids policy, was suspended four games -- and it barely rated a blip. If this happened to a baseball superstar, it would be a full-blown controversy.
But that story was about a player and his body. Tank Johnson, he of the gun stash, affects us all. When he ignores the fact he's in deep trouble by going to a nightclub and attracting more trouble, well, there's only one option for the Bears in crisis mode.
Cut him. Now.
Or it's business as usual at Malice Hall.
Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. weekdays on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number (letters run Sunday).
