When Manziel finally played late in the 2014 season, he was so ill-prepared that it was downright embarrassing to watch.
When he cried on the field after injuring his hamstring midway through his second start, it was almost like a mercy killing.
He then decided, after telling the media that he needed to straighten up, to go out partying on a Friday night before the Browns’ season finale, overslept and missed his mandatory treatment on his hamstring.
Browns security had to force themselves into his apartment because he wasn’t answering his phone.
Once again, he gave the media a bunch of hollow statements, calling himself a “jackass,” before leaving Berea and partying in Miami that same night, drunkenly wishing LeBron James a Happy Birthday.
Just a few weeks later, word came out that Manziel checked himself into the Caron Treatment Center in Pennsylvania for an undisclosed substance abuse problem.
He’s never discussed his treatment, what he was treated for, and if he’s in an aftercare program.
When you spend 80 days in a rehab center trying to get clean from God-knows-what – most believe it was alcohol, although some allege it was cocaine – the fact that you’re out day-drinking with your significant other just five games into the regular season is very concerning.
Two drinks or not, when you’re an addict, it’s a big deal.
The fact that you put lives in danger while erratically driving a vehicle because you and that significant other got into a “tiff” is a big deal, especially after an afternoon of day-drinking.
The fact that you had to physically restrain your significant other from leaving a moving vehicle is a big deal – why was she trying to leave? The fact that it caused one witness to call 911 is a big deal.
And the fact that you went to Twitter to defend yourself, saying “it probably looked more interesting than it was,” doesn’t exactly help your public image.
Manziel was never charged with domestic violence, DUI, public intoxication, speeding … he wasn’t charged with anything at all, which his supporters have used as the primary defense.
But remember that offensive line coach Andy Moeller was never charged either for a domestic dispute with his fiancée, and he wound up being suspended and later forced to resign by the Browns.
Also fellow first-rounder Justin Gilbert was involved with a road rage incident prior to the season opener – the Browns chose to handle that internally, and Gilbert wasn’t active for the first few games (although the team has said it was due to Gilbert’s health and not for disciplinary reasons).
It may have wound up being much ado about nothing. Maybe the media blew it out of proportion.
But when you’re a magnet for criticism dating back to your college football days, things have a tendency to be blown out of proportion when it comes to Johnny Manziel. And, as a Browns fan, that has to be concerning.
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