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Fiesta Bowl star receiving racial threats

Johnson scored winning points, proposed on national TV to white girlfriend

Ian Johnson, Chrissy PopadicsAP
Boise State running back Ian Johnson proposes to his girlfriend, cheerleader Chrissy Popadics after Boise State beat Oklahoma 43-42 in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. The couple will be married this Saturday.

BOISE, Idaho - The Boise State running back who scored the winning points in the Fiesta Bowl, then proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on national television, says he has hired security for their wedding because of racial threats.

Ian Johnson, who is black, and Chrissy Popadics, who is white, are due to be married Saturday in Boise.

Since his Jan. 1 proposal, Johnson said, he has received phone calls, letters and some personal threats from people who object to their marriage plans.

“You take it for what it is — the less educated, the less willing to change,” Johnson, 21, of San Dimas, Calif., told the Idaho Statesman for its Tuesday editions. “But we’re not acting like we’re naive to all the stuff that’s going on. We know what’s been said. We’re going to make sure we’re safe at all times. It’s an amazing day for us, and we’d hate to have it ruined by someone.”

“It’s really sad because a lot of people that are probably doing it are the same people who were cheering me on,” Johnson said.

A Boise State football spokesman, Todd Miles, said Tuesday that Johnson hoped to put the matter behind him and did not want to discuss it further. Popadics’ family said she was not available.

At the Fiesta Bowl, Johnson used a “Statue of Liberty” play to score the winning two-point conversion as underdog Boise State beat the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime. The Broncos ended their season 13-0.


© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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