Ex-NFL RB LeShon Johnson gets 5 years in prison for dogfighting ring

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Sep 11, 2026

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — Former Giants running back LeShon Johnson was sentenced to a five-year prison sentence for operating an illegal dogfighting ring.

The 55-year-old who rushed for two touchdowns during his 1999 season with Big Blue was convicted on six felony counts involving the possession, selling and trafficking of animals used for fighting in August.

Johnson was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine in addition to his prison sentence.

The Oklahoma native, who also played for the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals, surrendered 190 dogs after his arrest. The Department of Justice called it the largest number of animals ever seized from one person in a federal dog fighting case.

Johnson received a deferred five-year sentence after pleading guilty to dogfighting offenses in 2004 when he operated Krazyside Kennels. He began a new operation in 2007 that was known as Mal Kant Kennels, according to prosecutors. Johnson was accused of breeding and trafficking “hundreds of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting around the country.”

Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office said in a statement announcing Johnson’s sentence: “The animals in this case were defenseless and the defendant used them to harm each other for his entertainment.”

Johnson’s lawyer reportedly claims that his client suffered “traumatic brain injuries” from playing professional football and shouldn’t be incarcerated.

“He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke. I don’t think the necessity of sending him to prison or jail was necessary,” attorney Billy Coyle IV told ESPN.

Oklahoma state director for Animal Wellness Action Kevin Chambers felt otherwise.

“Dogfighting is a calculated enterprise in which animals are bred, conditioned, and placed in a pit to maul each other for gambling and entertainment, a heinous crime of cruelty,” he said in a statement addressing Johnson’s sentence. “We commend federal prosecutors for dismantling this operation and putting Johnson in prison.”