There have been some that said the woman started the altercation and deserved what she got; I disagree.
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The woman suffered a left eye bruise, swelling on his face and a small cut on her nose. “I’m sorry and if I could do it all over again, I would”.
Florida State president John Thrasher met with the program’s football players and coaches on Monday after the incident involving Johnson and running back Dalvin Cook, who was suspended indefinitely after an arrest for allegedly punching a woman in the face outside a bar last month.
Johnson, 19, has been charged with misdemeanor battery. He has pleaded not guilty.
The 19-year-old freshman from Jacksonville, speaking exclusively with ABC News, said he regrets the encounter.
Johnson didn’t want to focus on speculation about what prompted the punch, or that racial slurs had been directed at him.
“It doesn’t matter [about that]”, he said.
“I totally should have walked away”.
During the confrontation, Johnson appears to grab the woman’s raised hand before she lunges at him with a closed fist.
According to SI.com, Johnson apologized while flanked by his mother when Michael Strahan asked him about the situation, saying: “There’s no explanation for that”.
Jones said she was furious at her son. “I wanted to jump through the phone and ring his neck”, she added.
Although Everett Golson and Sean Maguire will vie for Florida State’s starting quarterback job in 2015, many viewed Johnson as a potential candidate to take the reins under center beginning in 2016. He wants to continue his education, and he’s volunteering at a battered women’s shelter.
Jose Baez, an attorney representing Johnson in the case, told NBC News that the victim instigated the altercation while she and Johnson were waiting for a drink at the bar.
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“I would like to say to her and her family that I am… severely sorry. No words can describe this feeling”.
