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De'Andre Johnson: 'I Should Have Walked Away'

Ex-Florida State University QB breaks silence in first interview since punching female.

Former Florida State University quarterback De'Andre Johnson has broken his silence about the infamous punch he threw at a woman inside a Tallahassee bar last month.

Speaking with Michael Strahan as part of a Good Morning America exclusive, which aired on Tuesday morning, Johnson expressed regret for failing to walk away from the woman, who hit him first. 

"There's no explanation for that. I totally should have walked away. I'm sorry. If I could do it over again, I would [walk away]," Johnson said with his mother next to him.

Video footage from the now-notorious incident shows Johnson aggressively trying to get past the woman at the bar. She raises her fist as a warning to which Johnson responds by grabbing her hand in attempt to restrain her. The woman punches Johnson and the ex-Seminoles freshman QB reacts by punching her in the face.

The victim suffered bruising under her left eye, swelling to her left cheek and upper lip and a small cut. Johnson was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery.

When Strahan asked Johnson if reports of the woman using the N-word against him were true, the 19-year-old only said: "It doesn't matter. What matters is I shouldn't have raised my hand to her. I should have walked away."

Johnson added that he knows he hurt his mother with his actions and that's what's most disturbing.

"She didn't raise me this way," he said. "It kills me inside to [know] I hurt her heart."

His mom, Pamela Jones, said she "cried for three days" and "I still cry."

Johnson also used the interview to express that he has "never been violent toward a woman...ever" before this incident.

"What you saw in the video is not who I am," he continued, adding that he thinks he deserves a second chance.

In closing, Johnson once again apologized to the woman: "I am sincerely sorry. No words can describe this feeling."

While the case is ongoing, Johnson has been volunteering in a battered-woman's shelter and continuing his college education.

BET Sports News — Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports, including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes.

(Photo: ABC News)

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