Both Griner and Johnson were suspended 7 games for their domestic violence incident, but Johnson says since Griner was the aggressor she shouldn’t be suspended. Johnson and her lawyer spoke to SI.com.
According to Johnson’s lawyer, Griner beat her now wife over the head with a carrying case.
On April 22, Griner and Johnson were arrested in Goodyear, Ariz., after police were called to a residence for a domestic dispute. Many of the details of the incident remain murky, but in a medical evaluation conducted two days after Johnson was arrested—according to records provided by Johnson’s lawyer—Phoenix-based orthopedic doctor Thomas C. Fiel noted that Johnson had been struck twice “on the back of her head by a hard carrying case.” A CT scan corroborated that Johnson had experienced head trauma and suffered a concussion. The CT scan also found evidence of spinal trauma. Griner, according to the police report, suffered only minor scratches.
Johnson’s feels there was a rush to judgment and she should be allowed to play.
“[The WNBA] definitely knew about it,” Johnson said, referring to her injuries and how they occurred. “And that’s another reason it surprised me that they came up with the same conclusion. I’m not going to throw Brittney under the bus … and she’s not going to throw me under the bus … [but] what the [WNBA] did not say in the statements they released was that I pled not guilty … So for them to release a statement saying that we were both guilty in the situation, it’s not right. It’s not correct … Brittney pled guilty … Brittney understands why I pled not guilty, and I understand why she pled guilty … she was even willing to speak to whoever she needed to, to get the point across.”
Johnson and Griner were married shortly after she beat her in the head.