PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A former Arizona Cardinals player has been sentenced for his role in a large-scale dogfighting operation, federal prosecutors announced.
LeShon Johnson was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The former NFL player from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, received a total of 60 months behind bars, three years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine after the trial for six dog fighting-related charges.
Leshon Johnson runs with the ball as Arizona Cardinals running back(AP)
“LeShon Johnson will face justice for building another particularly egregious and violent dog fighting scheme,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “As Johnson was well aware, dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states. To anyone attempting to build violent and illicit business schemes: you can run, but you can’t hide from the Department of Justice.”
Prosecutors alleged that Johnson operated Mal Kant Kennels in Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma, and selectively bred pit bull-type dogs known as champions or grand champions because of winning dog fights. The government seized 190 dogs from Johnson in 2025.
Johnson allegedly bred dogs that had won as many as five fights and then sold “stud rights” and their offspring to other dogfighters, according to the Justice Department. The trafficking took place across the U.S. and helped to grow the dogfighting industry, while resulting in Johnson profiting financially, prosecutors alleged.
Pit bulls that were owned by former NFL football player LeShon Johnson are kept in a section of the Tulsa Animal Shelter that is marked off by tape, as evidence in the case against him on April 11, 2005, in Tulsa, Okla.((John Clanton/Tulsa World via AP))
“The animals in this case were defenseless and the defendant used them to harm each other for his entertainment,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. “The FBI appreciates the work of ENRD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to hold Mr. Johnson responsible for his mistreatment of these animals.”
Johnson previously pleaded guilty to state animal fighting charges in 2004 in Oklahoma. He was given a five-year deferred sentence, according to court documents.
Johnson was a running back and played for the Cardinals from 1995 to 1997.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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