It’s a rare sight to see the fan base for a sports franchise in a celebratory mood 24 hours after a loss. With half the season behind them and only one win visible in the rearview mirror, the natural emotions should be disappointment, dejection, and possibly even depression. So why are Chiefs fans dancing like Rosie Perez in the opening credits of a Spike Lee film today?

It’s because they got their wish. Over the past week, fans numbering in excess of 35,000 signed an online petition requesting that GM Scott Pioli not allow Larry Johnson to break Priest Holmes’ franchise rushing record. The petition was pedestrian in wording and held no great swaying power of its own, but it didn’t need to. Fans are forgiving, but far too often Johnson’s behavior was unforgivable. His final offense, a homophobic epithet and a knock on his head coach’s credentials, was in itself far less egregious than many of his prior transgressions, but it was enough in the eyes of his employers to merit dismissal.

I’d like to think that the petition played into Pioli’s decision, but I’m wise enough to know it did not. GMs are businessmen, not public relations officers. Still, the consequence is the same: public approval for a front office and coaching staff that was severely deficient in that regard. This is Pioli’s third significant personnel move in his short tenure. The first two–trading Tony Gonzalez and acquiring Matt Cassel–have not panned out well. Thus, this stands to be his first real positive, and it comes not a moment too soon.

In the end, it wasn’t Johnson’s homophobic blast that got him fired. It wasn’t his history of violence toward women either. These behaviors, unseemly as they may be, seldom break the careers of athletes. Plaxico Burress is the exception. Leonard Little is the rule. Off-field misbehavior doesn’t get football players fired. Poor performance does.

Only in Larry’s case, I don’t think it was poor performance either. This is hardly an endorsement of his effort thus far this season–2.7 yards per carry is unacceptable under any circumstance. But with Jackie Battle on IR, Kolby Smith freshly off PUP, and Javarris Williams firmly entrenched on the practice squad, there is little doubt that Johnson was the team’s third best back. On a team struggling for depth at most positions, it doesn’t make strategic sense to cut a potential contributor.

The real culprit was Johnson’s defamation of head coach Todd Haley. By calling his boss’s understanding of the game into question, he got what he had been after for four years–an express route out of Kansas City. This was by no means the first time Larry had publicly criticized a coach, but it was the first time that it really legitimately mattered. Little regard was given to his criticism of Dick Vermeil because it was generally accepted that the weepy one understood how to do his job (multiple Super Bowl appearances and a little bit of corresponding jewelry will do that). Furthermore, Vermeil was as well liked and respected by his players as any coach I’ve ever seen. Accordingly, Johnson’s remarks were written off as the tantrum of a spoiled brat who hadn’t yet adjusted to the idea of playing for somebody other than his own father.

With Haley, the circumstances are different. Haley is not of Vermeil’s pedigree, and he has no prior experience in keeping a team focused when it’s floundering this badly. LJ’s teammates are smart enough to identify him as that same spoiled brat that years ago hinted at the idea that an old white coach couldn’t relate to a young black player. That doesn’t mean that they’ll inherently disagree with everything he says, however. When a team starts the season 1-7 and the press calls into question whether or not the rookie head coach has enough experience to handle the job, it’s to be expected. When the team’s second-most senior player does it, it’s an altogether different animal. Allowing Johnson to stay would be a tacit acceptance of his remark.

Young coaches can’t afford to have these ideas floating around the locker room, and Larry Johnson knows this. I do not believe his criticism came in earnest. I do not believe it was borne of frustration. My gut feeling is that it was by design, and that says as much about his character as anything in his past. Fans would have loved to see Johnson kept on board and deactivated for the remainder of the season, just as the Eagles did with Terrell Owens in 2005. It’s a nice thought, but for a team so depleted at both offensive line and safety, there is no room for poetic justice. They need the roster spot.

Still, this is an acceptable alternative. Larry Johnson gets what he wants, the fans get what they want, and the Chiefs get what they need. And tonight, the women of Kansas City can sleep a little better. Scott Pioli did the right thing.

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