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Exiled Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson acknowledged to ESPN late Friday night that he left a series of profane and threatening phone messages for a man he believed was interfering with his efforts to reconcile with his ex-wife, Shikiri.
In a statement released to ESPN, Johnson's attorney, John Burris, said that Johnson believes the release of the cell phone message tapes to the police is part of John Mahannah Jr.'s ongoing efforts to get money from Johnson. Burris confirmed that Johnson is the defendant in a civil suit filed by Mahannah earlier this month.
Burris said that Johnson already has apologized for making the calls.
Burris also confirmed that Mahannah has filed for a restraining order against Johnson. Earlier Friday, two Florida newspapers reported that a temporary restraining order had been issued in California against Johnson for allegedly threatening to kill Mahannah.
Johnson faces a hearing for a permanent order on Feb. 6 in Oakland, Calif., according to the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times.
The restraining order states that Johnson "threatened to kill plaintiff and beat him to a pulp." It also states that Johnson left a series of threatening phone messages in which he allegedly says he knows where Mahannah lives and "will get him," according to the newspapers' reports.
In the statement to ESPN, Burris stated that Johnson's ex-wife, Shikiri Hightower-Johnson, said she was not consulted by Mahannah before he requested the restraining order. She also said that her relationship with Mahannah is over and that she has asked him not to contact her again. In a phone conversation with ESPN, Hightower-Johnson denied that Mahannah was her boyfriend.
Hightower-Johnson reiterated in the statement that she and Johnson were making a concerted effort to reconcile and that Johnson had spent considerable time with their children at her house during his time away from the Buccaneers.
Mahannah said the threats began in October, after Johnson learned that Mahannah and Hightower-Johnson had started a relationship in August, according to the report filed with the Oakland Police Department.
The report accuses Johnson of confronting him at a funeral on Jan. 9, where Johnson said, "I'm going to catch you on the street and I will beat you to a pulp." Mahannah said Johnson had to be restrained by several people at the funeral, and that since then, he has received five to six threatening calls each day, the Tribune reported.
In the police report, Mahannah states that in one of the messages, Johnson claimed he would "get someone else to kill [Mahannah]."
Under the terms of the temporary restraining order, Johnson has been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Mahannah and is prohibited from "causing or directing any third party from committing any acts," the Tribune reported.
"The nature of the restraining order [is the result] of criminal threats and more that have been going on for a period of time," attorney Lisa Alexholland told the Tribune. Alexholland is representing Mahannah in the case.
Johnson's agent, Jerome Stanley, said the situation has been exaggerated.
"It's just overblown, that's all," Stanley told the Times. "More smoke than substance. It's a ballgame level dispute that gets elevated because he's a professional athlete. It's typical."
"There are things in that report that are exaggerated," Stanley told the Tribune.
The temporary restraining order was served Jan. 15, and though a police report has been filed, Johnson has not been charged with any crimes.
In an unrelated event, Johnson was robbed at gunpoint on Wednesday in Berkeley, Calif. Two men accosted Johnson while he was talking on his cell phone, and stole his money and jewelry before fleeing the scene.
No arrests have yet been made in that case.
Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl receiver, was deactivated for the final six games of last season, and the Buccaneers plan either to trade or release him. He was the first pick in the 1996 draft by the New York Jets, who traded him to Tampa Bay three years ago for two No. 1 draft choices.
Source: espn