The NFL suspended without pay Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson yesterday for the first eight games of the 2007 season due to a violation of the league's conduct policy.

 

If Johnson avoids legal trouble and attends counseling, Commissioner Roger Goodell might let him get away with a six games suspension.

An eight-game suspension would cost Johnson $255,000 of his $510,000 salary.

 

Asked if it was fair, Johnson answered:

“It’s not my call to say it’s fair or unfair. Roger Goodell’s a fair man, I know that, and he took everything into consideration that he and I talked about. He came up with what he came up with. If it’s in the best interest of the N.F.L., then I’m all for it.

 

“He’s given me the opportunity to reduce it to six games, which I am very appreciative. I am looking at it like a six-game suspension, because I definitely am very confident that I’m capable of doing everything he’s asked me to do, and more.”

 

Johnson is the third athlete on Goodell’s list of suspensions joining Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the 2007 season and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for eight games

 

Last December, police raided Johnson’s suburban Chicago home and found six unregistered firearms, a violation of his probation on an earlier gun charge.
Two days after the raid his bodyguard was shot and killed in a fight while the two were at a Chicago nightclub.

Johnson was recently released for good behavior after serving half of a 120-day sentence in the Cook County Jail for violating his probation, and then had a hearing before Goodell last month in New York.