Chad Johnson and Marvin Lewis duke it out?

[The Assassin]

Chad: Fight story 'ridiculous'

By Mark Curnutte and Paul Daugherty
Enquirer staff writers



The Enquirer/Michael E. Keating

Chad Johnson sits on the bench as the final minutes tick away in Sunday's game.


More photos:
• Photos: Carson Palmer



MULTIMEDIA
• Audio: Chad Johnson press conference (MP3)


PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO
Click on the MP3 link above to listen to an audio excerpt from the beginning of Chad Johnson's press conference.

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Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson tonight held a press conference to deny an Internet story that claimed he was involved in an altercation with Bengals coaches on Sunday.

Calling the story "ridiculous," Johnson said he had nothing but respect for the fans, the media, and especially his coaches.

"There's never been a confrontation, ever, and especially with a coach," Johnson said.

Referring to injured Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, Johnson said: "Carson's out. Now somebody's trying to put Chad out. It's not fair."

The press conference was the result of a story that was posted on the Web site profootballtalk.com. The story claimed Johnson was involved in an altercation with receivers coach Hue Jackson and head coach Marvin Lewis Sunday during halftime of the Bengals-Steelers playoff game.

Johnson said he had no idea where the story came from. Earlier today, on Lance McAlister's sports talk radio show on 1360-AM, Bengals analyst Dave Lapham said a player on the Bengals offense confirmed that a confrontation did occur at halftime between Johnson and members of the coaching staff.

Jackson did not return a message left this morning on his office phone at Paul Brown Stadium.

Earlier today, Johnson told the Enquirer: “(The story) sounds like drama. At halftime, I was getting an IV. Nothing happened. Why don’t you talk to the coaches, they’re all down there today.”

All day, the Bengals refused to comment on the story.

“We don’t comment on rumors,” Bengals public relations director Jack Brennan said.

The Bengals led 17-14 at the halftime of Sunday's game, but lost 31-17 in the wildcard game.

The Web site reported that Johnson was unhappy about the lack of passes thrown to him, three with two completions in the first half.

Johnson caught two of the three attempts in his direction in the second half to finish with four receptions for 59 yards.

In post-game interviews Sunday, defensive tackle John Thornton was among the handful of players who talked in general about the lack of cohesion and that the team concept was lost and must be regained.

Thornton, reached this morning via cell phone, said, “I can’t confirm or deny anything that happened in the locker room.”

Thornton did say Sunday that the issue did not involve rookie players.

In his post-game comments Sunday, Lewis alluded, generally, to a problem, saying, “We came in here as a football team and we need to leave out of here as a football team and understand that it's about working through the tough times. You work through the critical points in the game and do you job.”




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[WhatsMyName]

Whatever happened to that Super Bowl Shuffle reiteration starring the striped sissies, anyway?