I seen the video and actually laughed myself. I personally do not think that he should have been sentenced to 30 days in jail for that. This just shows how a judge sitting on the bench literally holds the future of whoever is across from them in their hands. It is clear that she was upset that he was not getting any serious time and I feel that she let that sway her decision which shows a misuse of power based on emotion.

Now on to Chad Ochocinco; that had to be one of the least logical decisions he has made in quite some time. I will keep this short and sweet and get right down to it. No matter if he was an athlete or not he is still a black man in a courtroom on the wrong side of the podium. On top of that you have a judge that is a woman and is also white. Sir, the odds are not in your favor; at all.

You live and you learn I suppose. People if you are reading this I want you to take at least one thing away from this post and that is assess the situation and make the best choice to benefit you.

QUESTION: What do you think? Do you feel that the judge overreacted? How do you feel about Chad Ochocinco’s decision?

Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQEI-_OG6w 

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God Bless

On Monday Nights edition of the “Glenn Younes Show” a center of discussion was former NFL Wide Receiver Chad Johnson and his sentence to 30 days in jail following Johnson slapping his attorney on the behind after a good plea deal.

Glenn feels very strongly that Chad Johnson needs the wake up call that was given to him yesterday. “You want to know what spiraling down looks like take a look at Chad Johnson.”

Glenn’ producer Doug has an opinion that Chad doesn’t realize the setting that he was in due to the environment around him throughout his tenure in the NFL. “What do you expect all athletes have come into this because they are treated differently than us.” Doug even went so far to allude to the fact that Chad is no different than the teenagers that go to court for speeding tickets. “He has no understanding what the real world is about.”

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Follow Glenn on twitter @gunitradio along with the show using #GYshow

Follow Doug on twitter @djkibs

Adam Swickle asked Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh to reconsider the sentence she imposed Monday. Johnson had reached a deal with prosecutors for community service and counseling to resolve a probation violation from his no-contest plea last year to battery on his then-wife, TV star Evelyn Lozada.

McHugh, just elected last August to her first term on the bench, seemed poised to approve the plea deal until Johnson’s backside pat of Swickle triggered a wave of laughter in the court. The judge then angrily said she wouldn’t sign off and tossed the six-time Pro Bowler formerly known as Chad Ochocinco in jail.

“This isn’t a joke,” the judge said, raising questions about his sincerity.

Swickle said the backside pat was merely Johnson’s way of showing appreciation for his attorney’s work on the case. Moments before it had meant he wouldn’t do any jail time despite skipping out on meetings with his probation officer for three months.

“Mr. Johnson has been a professional football player in the National Football League for 11 years and patting another individual on the backside is viewed as a sign of respect and gratitude,” he said in the motion. “It is clear that the court misinterpreted Mr. Johnson’s interaction with his attorney.”

As for the courtroom laughter, Swickle added, “this is not Mr. Johnson’s fault and he should not be punished for the actions of third parties.”

Prosecutors say they’ll leave Johnson’s sentence up to McHugh, who presides over Broward County domestic violence cases. A hearing has been set for next Monday.

Johnson, 35, spent most of his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals, catching 766 passes for more than 11,000 yards and 67 touchdowns. He played one year with the New England Patriots and then was in training camp last year with the Miami Dolphins, who cut him after he head-butted Lozada during a domestic altercation. Lozada, a star on VH-1′s “Basketball Wives” show, quickly filed for divorce.

Johnson, a Miami native, said in court he still hopes resurrect his football career. Under the plea deal that had been reached, Johnson would do 25 hours of community service and attend counseling sessions twice a week during his probation. In addition, the probation would be extended three months into December.

_____

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Attorney Adam Swickle asked Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh on Tuesday to reconsider the sentence. Johnson had reached a deal for community service and counseling to resolve a probation violation.

The Pro Bowl player formerly known as Chad Ochocinco is on probation after pleading no contest to battery on his then-wife, reality TV star Evelyn Lozada.

McHugh seemed ready to approve the plea deal Monday until Johnson’s backside pat caused laughter in the court. The judge then said she wouldn’t sign off and tossed Johnson in jail.

A hearing is set for next Monday.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Ochocinco’s mug for arrest of alleged domestic violence.
Photo Credit: Broward County Sheriff’s Office

A frustrated judge sentenced Miami Dolphin’s player, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, to 30 days in jail after she feels he made a mockery out of her courtroom. Following his verdict, Johnson playfully slapped his lawyers butt causing the room to burst out in laughter. “I don’t know that you’re taking this whole thing seriously,” Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh said annoyed. “This isn’t a joke,” she continued.

The incident caused him a no-jail plea deal on an earlier probation violation. Initially, McHugh was only going to add three months of probation for Johnson’s failure to meet with his probation officer for the previous three months. Although Johnson tried to apologize for his inappropriate behavior, the judge wasn’t convinced.

”Love me through the good and the bad because I’m gone love you regardless… See you in 30,” Johnson tweeted after leaving the courtroom handcuffed. Johnson alledgely head-butted his ex-wife last year after she confronted him about a condom box in the car.

While appearing in court to formalize a plea deal Chad Johnson faced a new and unexpected challenge.  In 2012, Johnson was arrested and charged with domestic violence following an incident where he “allegedly head-butted his new wife during an argument.” Since then he has undergone therapy, and publicly talked about his failings, contributing to this plea deal where he was to avoid jail time.  In a sense, the court appearance was a mere formality.  Yet, that changed when Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh asked if he was satisfied with his attorney, that all changed

Chad Johnson: “Yes ma’am.”

Judge McHugh: “Well you should be. He’s an excellent attorney.”

Chad Johnson: “I Know”

As to further note his appreciation and affection for his attorney, Chad did what athletes, both professional and those weekend warriors, often do: he gave him a pat on the backside.

While others in the courtroom laughed, the Judge saw little humor in his behavior (watching the video it doesn’t seem as if Chad Johnson saw any humor either), responding in kind:

I don’t know that you’re taking this whole thing seriously. I just saw you slap your attorney on the backside. Is there something funny about this? The whole courtroom was laughing. I’m not going to accept these plea negotiations. This isn’t a joke.

Despite an apology from Chad Johnson, the Judge held firm, sentencing him to 30 days in jail.
Wow

In other words, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail not for domestic violence, not for head butting his partner, not for causing a huge gash but his “attitude” and “demeanor.”   Whether or not this was a smart thing to do or whether it was appropriate (watching the video, I think it is hard to see it as disrespectful) is surely up for debate, but 30 days in jail is more than a bit excessive.  And if the issue was the court, why not contempt charges for all those who laughed.

Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless quickly weighed in on the situation.  Smith offered the following:

I can’t even put into words how disgusted I am right now at this man. This guy is out of the NFL right now because of his mouth, because of his absence of discipline, because he took things for granted. This show has been incredibly fair to this man, and you do the kind of stuff that you do, I can’t express how ticked off I am right now. You slap your attorney on the behind playfully in court? You are a BLACK MAN in court for headbutting your wife. A female judge is presiding over a case where you allegedly headbutted a female that just happened to be your wife, and you don’t have the common sense to know that you do not need to be in court playful about anything?? It doesn’t occur to you?

What is wrong with him? I don’t get it. I don’t understand it and it doesn’t make sense to me. All I know is this, you are officially a statistic for the next 30 days [...] If that ain’t the height of idiocy, I don’t know what is [...] “I don’t want to even say anything else. I’m scared of what else I’m gon’ say.”

Beyond the acceptance of a stratified criminal justice system, beyond the tone that positions Johnson as a stupid child, beyond the deployment of the politics of respectability, and beyond the issue being framed as one of “discipline,” Smith (and Bayless) do little to reflect on the meaning of locking someone up for 30 days for “making a mistake” or being too “playful in court.”

The sentence and the “First Take Duos” response seems to be based in this idea that Johnson was not respecting the court; his sense of entitlement was showing its face.  Those with power, celebrity, whether athletes or Wall Street executives, Hollywood stars or politicians, white college students or suburbanites are often afforded levels of privilege, impunity, and power otherwise unavailable to others. That of course isn’t available equally across the board, and race, class, gender, power and profession matter.  In this instance, it actually seems as if Johnson is being punished because of his celebrity, because of the presumptions about his sense of entitlement.  It seems that what he embodies, racially, what he signifies as black male athlete, black male celebrity, is playing out in harmful ways.  30 days isn’t nothing.

Most importantly, the Judge’s decision to punish him for his playful “ass pat” is yet another reminder that the criminal justice system doesn’t take the issue of domestic violence seriously.  He was punished with jail time not for domestic violence but for inappropriate behavior in court.   He isn’t being punished for his disrespect of women, for his perpetuation of violence, but for disrespecting the court, the law, and the powerful.   The fact that as you read the many articles in the press there is little reporting as to what happen in 2012 is telling.  The fact that the Evelyn Lozada is barely mentioned is revealing.  Little about domestic violence in this case and the broader issue; little about Johnson’s therapy.  We need to deal with the issue of domestic violence throughout society, and the judge’s decision not only feels excessive and the ultimate exhibition of power but worse it further displaces the domestic violence from the conversation.

In the end, it seems as if the court and the Judge didn’t take the proceedings seriously, didn’t take the issue of domestic violence seriously, since in the aftermath what are we all talking about . . . not domestic violence.  And that is the true shame.

It’s no secret that season 4 of Basketball Wives was the most controversial yet. We all know that there appeared to be enough ass whoopings to go around the table for everybody. From Evelyn’s assistant slapping Jennifer to Tami holding purses hostages and things, the last season was very over the top. And as a result, petitions were started and advertisers backed out.

The ladies are now gearing up for season 5. With new cast members and a new perspective on the show,  Shaunie O’ Neal, Tami Roman, and Evelyn Lozada open up about what happened during their past season and their former cast mates.

Peep a few excerpts:

Consequences of the negative images on the show:

[It] was so difficult to deal with when it was airing and when it was all over with. I remember saying, ‘what the hell just happened?

 

This isn’t us; we’re mothers, we’re businesswomen. We have to be smarter. We have to represent ourselves a lot better.—Shaunie O’Neal

People were connecting my behavior on the show with the incident with Chad. They were like, ‘Well if she acts like that on the show, then I’m sure she acts like that at home.’ I’m a totally different person at home. —Eveyln Lozada

I was very depressed last summer. I was dealing with some things that were going on with my mother and everything that was happening with the backlash from the show. I started eating everything under the sun. I blew up to about 190-ish pounds. I’m a tall girl, so I wear it well, but I was bordering between [size] 14 and 16 in my clothes.—Tami Roman

By the time we did the [season four] reunion we all agreed enough is enough. We had a group talk and were all definitely on the same page. We heard the messages loud and clear. We knew we had to do better. It was an eye opener. —Shaunie O’Neal

Jennifer Williams & Royce Reed

It was a chemistry thing. It just became awkward to film or even come up with a conversation. It just wasn’t working for TV.
—Shaunie O’Neal

Royce has been a non-motherf—ing factor for the last two seasons, so it just didn’t make sense anymore. And as for Jennifer—Shaunie is [being] nice but I’m going to tell you this—we don’t condone the incident with Jennifer, but we do . You know something’s bound to happen when you put a bunch of women together and there’s a lot of conversation and going on. So when Jennifer went on this whole anti-show campaign, it was a little tough for us as .
—Evelyn Lozada

The show is set to air this Fall. Do you think it will be different from last season?

TheJasmineBrand

The original plea deal would have extended Johnson’s probation for three months and he would have gone to 2 counseling sessions per week plus perform an additional 25 hours of community service.

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However, during the portion of the hearing when Johnson was sworn in and responding to the questions from Judge Kathleen McHugh; Johnson made the mistake of slapping his attorney on the backside, like he was a teammate on the football field.

Judge McHugh was infuriated by Johnson’s actions because everyone in the courtroom began laughing when Johnson did it. Judge McHugh rejected Johnson’s plea deal because she said he was not taking the proceedings seriously.

The hearing began as planned and Judge McHugh said she wanted to see pictures of Evelyn Lozada’s (Johnson’s ex-wife) injuries from the domestic violence incident that got Johnson in trouble.

Johnson did apologize to the judge after the incident and said he meant no disrespect.

“It seemed like I’m not taking it serious when you lose it all,” Johnson said. “When you lose everything you were a part of. It’s serious. There’s no jokes about it…No income coming in? Oh it’s serious. This is your courtroom. There was no disrespect, no intent towards you and I apologize to you and everyone else in here.”

But in the end, it was too little too late.

Judge McHugh sentenced Johnson to 30 days in jail for the probation violation.

“He is to be remanded into the custody of the Broward Sheriff’s Office as a condition of his probation to serve 30 days in the Broward County Jail,” Judge McHugh wrote.

On his way to jail, Johnson sent out a tweet reading, “Love me through the good and the bad because I’m gone love you regardless. See you in 30.”