LeShon Johnson. Name sound familiar? Probably not—unless you’re a hardcore ‘90s NFL fan. Even then, he wasn’t exactly a household name. But for a brief moment in 1996, he had his flash of greatness—214 rushing yards on 21 carries for the Cardinals against the Saints. That was his claim to fame. Now? His name is making headlines again, but for all the wrong reasons.

The ex-NFLer went way out of order if this was his attempt to leave a mark. Johnson has been charged in what the Justice Department calls the largest federal dogfighting bust in U.S. history. The numbers? Gulps… Nearly 200 “pit bull-type dogs” seized (in October 2024). FBI agents had stormed his properties in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, uncovering a massive underground operation. The details are gruesome, the charges severe, and if convicted, Johnson faces years in prison and hefty fines.

But before that, let’s discuss ball… Johnson’s NFL career wasn’t one for the history books. Drafted in the third round by the Packers in 1994, he bounced between the Packers, Cardinals, and Giants before hanging up his cleats after six seasons. His biggest off-field headline before this? Buying a pet lion named Nala with a rookie teammate. A strange, quirky footnote in his career.

Fast forward to now, his obsession with doing something weird has not really passed. This is something wild, to say the least. According to court documents, Johnson had been running dogfighting rings under the names Mal Kant Kennels. These weren’t backyard scraps. Instead, this was an organized operation, complete with pedigrees, financial records, and text messages detailing the fights. Prosecutors say Johnson trafficked dogs across state lines, making money off their suffering.

But the FBI wasn’t messing around. Johnson had been under investigation for months. Agents seized his phone, uncovering damning evidence—CashApp transactions, Facebook messages, emails—all pointing to a well-oiled dogfighting business. Attorney General Pamela Bondi didn’t hold back in her statement: “Animal abuse is cruel, depraved, and deserves severe punishment. The Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.” Translation? The feds are coming for him, hard.

Meanwhile, what’s weird about it all is the fact that this wasn’t his first run-in with the law over animal cruelty. Back in 2005, Johnson had plead guilty to dogfighting charges under the banner of Krazyside Kennels. But clearly, he didn’t learn his lesson. Or something got lost in translation for him. Now, he’s scrambling yet again to save some face in the face of the ‘biggest bust of its kind’. Johnson’s arrest isn’t just another dogfighting case—it’s the biggest single bust in U.S. history. 190 dogs. Just let that number sink in.

FBI Director Kash Patel even tied it to bigger crimes, saying: “The FBI views animal cruelty cases as a stepping stone to organized crime, including trafficking and murder.” In other words, this may not be just about illegal dog fights—it may be about what else might be lurking beneath the surface. What’s Next for Johnson? He’s facing multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act, with each charge carrying a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Considering the scale of this case, he could be looking at serious time behind bars. A once-forgotten player, now remembered for all the wrong reasons.

LeShon Johnson’s just one name

Back in 2007, just 2 years after LeShon Johnson’s first run-in with law. Dogfighting wasn’t just an underground crime—it was a culture. It thrived in hidden circles, where stacks of cash changed hands faster than a running back hitting the open field. And then, Michael Vick happened. The former Falcons QB, as many of us know him…

But he was, according to insiders, a heavyweight in the dogfighting world. Authorities raided Vick’s Virginia property in 2007, finding over 60 dogs, fighting pits, and bloodstained carpets. Vick denied everything at first. No surprise there. However, the pressure mounted, and eventually, the quarterback pled guilty to running a dogfighting ring. As expected, the fallout was massive—suspension from the NFL, a prison sentence, and a long road to redemption.

Ever since then, his name became somewhat synonymous with dogfighting, but the reality? He wasn’t the only one. He was just the biggest name to get caught. Fast forward to today, and here we are again as LeShon Johnson plans to escape the whole idea of imprisonment in court, this time with charges under the Animal Welfare Act.

Meanwhile, dogfighting isn’t just about betting money on the “toughest” pit bulls. It’s a brutal, organized crime network. The Humane Society estimates that up to 40,000 people in the U.S. are involved in it. And let’s be real—this isn’t just random individuals with a few dogs in their backyard. It’s a system. One where people breed, train, and fight dogs, with some allegedly even paying off law enforcement to keep their operation running.

So for some people like Johnson, it opened the doors of an illegal opportunity, allegedly trafficking dogs across state lines, growing the underground industry. We can only wish such horrible incidents would just disappear altogether.