MISTAKEN
IDENTITY

Topics: Assumptions; Behavior; Character; Dignity; Dishonor; Gossip; Identity; Injustice; Integrity; Name; Reputation; Respect; Responsibility; Virtue

References: Proverbs 10:18–19; 11:13; 16:28; 22:1; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Ephesians 4:29–32; 1 Timothy 5:13; Titus 3:1–2; James 3:1–12; 1 Peter 3:10

It may take former NBA star and current Phoenix TV commentator Edward Arnett Johnson a long time to get over the worst day of his life. After his NBA career ended, the six-foot-eight-inch basketball champ, who is forty-seven, spent many years working with children, giving motivational speeches, and serving his community.

But in 2006, another former NBA star—six-foot-two-inch, fifty-one-year-old “Fast Eddie” Johnson—was arrested for sexual battery and burglary. Some reporters around the country picked up the story and mistakenly assumed that Edward Johnson of Phoenix was the criminal. His phone started ringing off the hook. Neighbors, even friends, were quick to tell him how disappointed they were with him.

“The thing that disappointed me the most is some people were overzealous enough to think it was me and attack me with a ferocity I can’t comprehend,” Johnson said in a telephone interview from his home in Phoenix. “That’s the part that didn’t allow me to sleep last night. That’s the part that forced me to reach out to as many people as I could and say, ‘Shame on you; that’s not me.’ ”

Eddie Johnson of Phoenix said his goal for the next several days was to get the word out about who he really is—and isn’t.

“I don’t fault the other Eddie Johnson for having that name,” said Johnson. “I think it’s a great name. He just doesn’t happen to be a great guy.”

—Eddie Pells, “It Ain’t Me,” Houston Chronicle (August 11, 2006)