It did not take long for the “new” Chad Johnson and his new bride to create drama straight out of a reality TV show. And it could jeopardize Johnson’s position with the Miami Dolphins.
The former Chad Ochocinco allegedly head-butted his newlywed wife, Evelyn Lozada, during an argument in front of their home near Miami. His arrest for simple battery, domestic violence – a misdemeanor – has landed him in a Miami jail likely until Monday. And that might not be the worse of his problems.
Lozada was treated at a hospital for a cut to her forehead, police said.
Lozada once engaged to former NBA star Antoine Walker, has been featured on the inane but popular reality TV show, “Basketball Wives,” where she displayed an aggressive nature. In one episode Lozada climbed across a table at a restaurant to attack a woman and eventually threw a wine bottle at her, narrowly missing the head of Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife, Shaunie O’Neal.
The 34-year-old Johnson changed his last name back to Johnson from Ochocinco after his July 4 wedding to Lozada, was being held Saturday night in Broward County Jail where he will remain until he can appear before a judge, which might not be until Monday.
Team officials were “aware of the situation and are in the process of gathering relevant information,” Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said.
Johnson’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined to comment.
Johnson signed with the Dolphins in June, four days after he was released by New England. A six-time Pro Bowl receiver with Cincinnati, he caught only 15 passes in 15 games for the Patriots last year after they acquired him in a trade for a pair of draft picks
On Friday night in the Dolphins’ 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay in the exhibition opener, Johnson let the only pass thrown to him slip through his hands.
Johnson and Lozada were prominent in the recent first episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins.”
Johnson and Lozada’s wedding is supposed to be part of another VH1 reality series that begins in September called “Eve & Ocho.”
