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KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) -- Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson faces a March 27 trial date on simple assault charges.

The Kansas City Star is reporting that a Kansas City municipal judge decided Wednesday that both assault cases will be heard in back-to-back trials on that day.

Authorities charged Johnson with a municipal ordinance violation in October after a woman alleged that he had pushed her in a nightclub in February.

Johnson also is accused of spitting drinks on a woman at a Kansas City nightspot in October. The woman filed a lawsuit that also claims that Johnson threatened to kill her and her boyfriend.

Johnson has denied wrongdoing.

Last season, he was benched for three games for violating team rules and suspended by the league for a fourth game for violating NFL player conduct rules.

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