Report: NFL Line Judge Carl Johnson Under Investigation for Domestic Abuse

A 49-year-old woman has accused Johnson of repeatedly being violent toward her.

NFL line judge and former vice president of officiating Carl Johnson is under investigation in Louisiana after a woman accused him of being violent toward her multiple times, TMZ reports.

The accuser is reportedly a 49-year-old woman who says she was living with Johnson when he first began turned violent in December 2016. She claims Johnson, who oversaw the league's referees from 2010-12, once hit her so hard that he broke one of her breast implants. Johnson is reportedly denying the accusations but declined to give comment to TMZ, but the woman told TMZ that she has pictures and audio recordings that corroborate her accusations.

Court officials in Louisiana confirmed to TMZ that the accuser received a temporary restraining order from Johnson but was denied a request to make the restraining order permanent. 

Here is what's particularly interesting and perhaps damning for the NFL: the woman told TMZ that she reached out to the league in March, and while it is unclear what (if any) action the league took after that, Johnson has continued to referee NFL games. Most recently, he was on the sidelines during the Chiefs-Eagles game this past Sunday. 

The NFL has come under fire for its manner of dealing with domestic violence issues in recent years. In 2014, Ray Rice was initially suspended just two games for punching his wife in an elevator. After video of the incident surfaced, Rice was suspended indefinitely but was reinstated after successfully appealing the ban in federal court. 

More recently, the league has been dealing with the messy Ezekiel Elliott situation. Elliott was suspended for six games for domestic violence despite having no criminal charges against him. Elliott received a temporary injunction of the suspension, which will allow him to play until the issue is resolved in court.