Tank Johnson, the Chicago Bears defensive tackle suspended for the first half of the upcoming US football season, was waived by the team on Monday, three days after an impaired driving arrest.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell imposed an eight-game banishment upon Johnson after a probation violation following a gun charge, but said he could trim the ban with no further involvement with law enforcement.
That hope vanished before dawn on Friday in Arizona when Johnson was stopped by police and cited for being impaired, the final straw as far as the Bears were concerned.
"We are very upset and embarrassed by Tank's actions last week. He compromised the credibility of our organization," Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said on the team's Web site.
"We made it clear to him that he had no room for error," Angelo said.
Johnson was released from jail May 13 after serving a probation violation. Goodell suspended him on June 3 for eight games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
"A lot of people within our organization have given extra time and energy to support Tank -- players, coaches and our front office," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We did our best to establish an environment for him to move forward.
Johnson, 25, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun possession charge in November of 2005 and was placed on probation for 18 months.
But Johnson was arrested last December when police raided his home and found three handguns, three rifles and more than 500 rounds of ammunition.
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