CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday to discuss legal
problems that landed the player in jail, but no discipline was
immediately handed down by the league.
The meeting in New York came three days after Johnson was
released from the Cook County Jail, where he served 60 days of a
120-day sentence for violating probation on a weapons charge.
NFL spokesman Randall Liu said the meeting took place at an
undisclosed location. He said he did not know how long the meeting
lasted, who else attended or other details.
Liu said he did not know when Goodell would make a decision on
whether to suspend Johnson.
Bears spokesman Scott Hagel also did not have any details about
the meeting. He said the Bears will hold a mandatory minicamp
starting Friday and Johnson is expected to participate.
Bears coach Lovie Smith, who was attending the Yankees-White Sox game, was asked if Johnson will be at the minicamp.
"We'll see," was all Smith would say.
Johnson could become the third player suspended by Goodell in
little more than a month for off-field behavior. In April, Goodell
suspended Tennessee Titans defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones for
the entire 2007 season, and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris
Henry for eight games before introducing a strengthened personal
conduct policy.
Last week, Goodell heard an appeal from Jones over the length of
his suspension. Jones has been questioned by police 10 times since
being drafted in 2005.
In December, police raided Johnson's Gurnee home and found six
unregistered firearms -- a violation of his probation on an earlier
gun charge.
That charge stemmed from Johnson's 2005 arrest after a Chicago
nightclub valet reported seeing Johnson with a handgun in his SUV.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
Two days after the raid in Gurnee, Willie B. Posey, Johnson's
bodyguard who had been arrested after the raid, was shot and killed
in an early morning fight while he and Johnson were at a Chicago
nightclub.
Johnson was suspended by the Bears for one game for being at the
club.
In March, Johnson began his jail term for violating his
probation. Last month, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons
charge as part of a deal with prosecutors that kept him from
serving more time in jail. He was ordered to serve 45 days, which
he was able to serve concurrently with the sentence for violating
his probation.