Ex-Sonic Eddie Johnson Accused of Child Molestation, But Not That Eddie Johnson

Stay with us here, will you? Florida cops busted ex-Sonic Eddie Johnson yesterday. He allegedly broke into a neighbor's home and molested an 8-year-old.

But--and this is important--the ex-Sonic Eddie Johnson that's been charged is NOT the rangy, sweet-shooting forward of the 1991-93 playoff teams.

A different Eddie Johnson played for the Sonics first, getting into 24 games in 1987. That Eddie Johnson is the alleged child molestor.

In the interest of fairness, let's hear that Eddie Johnson's side of the story:

He told detectives he had been in the apartment with the children, who were jumping on the bed.

He ... told detectives he kissed the girl on the head, which he does [to] all the neighborhood children "as a friendly gesture," according to the police report.

We're going to assume that our Eddie Johnson, who's now a commentator on Phoenix Suns broadcasts, expresses his friendlyness toward neighborhood children not by breaking into their homes and kissing them, but by, say, buying lemonade from their stand, or giving them a friendly wave as he backs out of his driveway.

We're going to assume this because our Eddie Johnson seemed like a cool guy. And when we saw this story, we felt very, very icky. But now it's all sorted out, and we feel a lot better. Not that this is any consolation to the girl and her family. Best wishes to them.

Here's a recap of Eddie's memorable Sonics career, titled "Eddie Johnson: Always A Straight Shooter.."

One suspects that any article about the other Eddie Johnson will bear a different title.