A former Arizona Cardinals running back was sentenced to five years in federal prison for a dogfighting ring operation in Oklahoma. LeShon Johnson operated a large-scale endeavor that involved hundreds of pit bulls.
In August, he went on trial in Oklahoma federal court for the operation. He was tried and convicted on six felony counts: one count of sale, transport, and delivery of a dog for use in an animal fighting venture, two counts of selling a dog for use in an animal fighting venture, and three counts of possessing a dog for use in an animal fighting venture.
Johnson played for the Cardinals for a portion of 1995 and then in the 1996 and 1997 seasons. He was a waiver claim for Arizona.
In addition to the five years in prison, Johnson was sentenced to three years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine. He was acquitted of 17 other similar counts. As part of the investigation in 2024, authorities seized 190 dogs. It will go down as the most canines seized in a federal dogfighting investigation by the Department of Justice.
Back in 2004, Johnson entered a guilty plea to state animal fighting charges and received a five-year deferred sentence connected to those charges.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. stated in a news release regarding Johnson’s sentence this time around:
> _“LeShon Johnson will face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dog fighting scheme. As Johnson was well aware, dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states. To anyone attempting to build violent and illicit business schemes: you can run, but you can’t hide from the Department of Justice.”_
Despite his conviction in 2004, Johnson continued to traffic dogs for illegal fighting.
Johnson was self-employed with “Mal Kant Kennels.” It advertised that they bred “champion and grand champion” pit bulls. By word of mouth, their adult dogs were said to “create offspring with fighting traits.” The distinction is that “champion” dogs have already won three fights while “grand champion” dogs have won five.
Through his kennel, Johnson would sell stud rights to other dog owners as well as puppies from either champion or grand champion animals. Dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states.
He grew up in Oklahoma and was a bull rider on the junior rodeo circuit. Is it possible that this is where Johnson began his infatuation with violence coupled with an animal?
Johnson was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in Round 3 of the 1994 NFL draft out of Northern Illinois, where he rushed for 1,976 yards in his senior year. In his year in the league, the Packers released him, and the Cardinals claimed him. In his first year with Arizona, he suffered an injury in training camp in 1996 that lingered until the Week 4 game against the New Orleans Saints, when he rushed for 214 yards, which remains the franchise’s second-best single-game effort.
After that, Johnson never rushed for 100 yards in a game for the remainder of his career. In 1998, he had a bout with lymphoma cancer. He made a comeback with the New York Football Giants and played the 1999 season, and started four games.
While with the Cardinals, Johnson played in 32 games with 8 starts, had 164 carries for 715 yards, scored 3 touchdowns, converted 25 first downs, and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt.
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