Chad Johnson was a good NFL player. No, Chad Johnson still is a good NFL player, however; within the past year he has seen his share of problems. The talented wide receiver has gone from catching passes on the field, to catching cases in court. The same can be said for NFL players as can be said for that of celebrities, they fiend and strive for the limelight. It becomes less about expressing their art and craft and more about pleasing the masses. After many record setting seasons in the NFL, Chad Johnson chose to branch out and get bit by the Reality TV bug. In a quotation to words similar of Rick James, “Reality TV is a helluva drug.”
Chad Johnson vs. Ochocinco
Chad Johnson and “Ochocinco” have two completely different realities. While Chad insists that he’s always being himself, his actions have proven otherwise. Before the rise of Ochocinco, Chad Johnson did his job. He played to the best of his abilities on the field and kept his mouth closed. What happen? It wasn’t Chad Johnson that wanted to be a reality TV star; it was his persona, “Ochocinco.” It was “Ochocinco” that had the personality of a 6 year old to where he required more attentinon after getting a taste of it. Johnson’s reality show on the VH1 network, The Ultimate Catch, propelled him to a place he thought he wanted to be, Hollywood. While he proclaimed to showcase the real Chad Johnson at times, he soon fell short of trying to convince people with his lies. The short lived series showed what Ochocinco was capable of, acting a damn fool! Ochocinco had Chad Johnson acting so much of a fool that he even took a break from the NFL for a year. He departed the starting point of his career and turned a new leaf toward showbiz.
Chad Johnson’s legal Woes
Court cases and court papers are the only thing Chad has been seeing for the past couple of months. It’s been one downfall after another in regards to his career and personal life. First it was his recent incident with the Miami Dolphins, and while Chad didn’t suffer any legal repercussions, he suffered a severe blow to his ego. Believing that he could still hang with the best the NFL had to offer, he chose to try out for the 2012 Miami Dolphins team. The popular show Hard Knocks ; which airs on the HBO network showed a detailed description of what goes on during the training camp of a NFL football team. Chad had previously chosen to drop the “Ochocinco” part of his name due to the amount of flack he was receiving in the media about his prior actions. He wanted to make a statement that he was serious about his career in the NFL again and would be willing to prove it in order to put frowns on the faces of his haters. At first glance the show depicts Chad Johnson aiming to be his best that is until “Ochocinco” emerges. Instead of trying to complement his fellow teammates and participate, he chose to be in competition with them as if they were playing for a rival team. His constant lack of concentration and abilities caused him to be cut from the team. Or was it the arrest? The arrest you ask, yes the arrest, the lockup. Chad Johnson had a dispute with his girlfriend Evelyn Lozada, from the VH1 reality show Basketball Wives:, in which he hit her with a “dome call”(head butt.) The police were called and the whole conversation was taped. As with all celebrity legal woes, someone got ahold to the incriminating evidence and linked it to the world. It was only then that Coach Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins dismissed him from the roster. As if getting locked up and kicked off your last chance football team wasn’t enough, Johnson may also now be facing up to a year in prison, yes the bing! It may sound harsh to those hidden from Chad’s background, however; this wasn’t his first incident with roughing up passers, I mean women. The previous incident was committed in 2000 when he slapped his girlfriend whom he accused of cheating. He was sentenced to community service and hit with a warning.
What’s the future of Chad Johnson?
Johnson has two choices in life as of right now; he can either get his life together or continue to watch it go down the drain. The way things have been going it doesn’t seem like it can get any worst for the former Cincinnati Bengal, however; I was always told “when it rains, it pours”, so his future is yet to be determined.