Paul Johnson doesn’t do nuance well.

The feisty Georgia Tech coach thinks his remarks about punching Georgia fans in the face were taken out of context.

ACCSports.com:
You’ve had some run-ins with the Atlanta media in the last two years. Can you talk about the incident that led to the “Johnson says smack them in the mouth” headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that caused such a stir following the Georgia game last fall?

Johnson:
The paper sensationalized the whole conversation. We’re getting ready to play Clemson the next week (in the ACC title game). I’m trying to move on. The guy on the radio won’t let me move on.

And finally he gets to it and says, “What do you say to the Tech fans who have to hear about Georgia all year long?” I said, “You know what, they probably gave it to them a year ago, so turnaround is fair play. They have to take it for a year. Move on.” And he follows up, “What if they just won’t stop? What if they keep going on and on?” I said, “Well, if you’ve heard it enough, and you tell them you’ve heard it enough, and they still won’t hush, you turn around and smack them in the mouth.” That was the whole conversation. They left out the first part. The headline says, “Johnson says smack them in the mouth.”

It’s the Popeye defense:  “that’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!” A DragonCon fan can only take so much, you know.