By all accounts, everyone is familiar with the bizarre saga of Johnny Manziel. The crossover from party animal player to NFL bust has started to take form recently. Late Sunday evening, Manziel was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a misdemeanor assault with bodily injury charge. This, stemming from a January 30th incident where the Fort Worth Police responded to a 911 call from Manziel’s former girlfriend, Colleen Crowley. The initial investigation showed signs of possible assault crossing multiple jurisdictions on their route back to Crowley’s apartment from the bar that night.
Before being indicted on Sunday night, Johnny had spent the majority of 2016 on the business end of a liquor bottle. In his latest adventure, Johnny is spotted partying it up with former Browns teammate Josh Gordon at Coachella. This, just two short weeks after reportedly trashing a West Hollywood condo for a grand total in damages north of $32,000 (where trace amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and mushrooms were found). The most impactful spin on the story, however, is the second firing of Manziel by his agent in just a few months. After Erik Burkhardt let Johnny go in February, he was temporarily signed on by Drew Rosenhaus, just to have their agreement officially terminated on April 19th.
So how did it get to this point? What caused Johnny’s downward spiral out of control? The better question is, shouldn’t we all have seen this coming? Johnny has always had trouble in his off-the-field life, and his attitude only made things worse. Just after completing his redshirt year as a freshman at Texas A&M University, Johnny was arrested and charged for three misdemeanors in June of 2012, after breaking up a fight involving a friend. Of course, Johnny went on to win the Heisman Trophy later that fall, and his polarization was noticeable immediately. The kid from A&M, with the ‘no fear’ attitude and miniature frame, took the sports world by storm. After his rock star redshirt freshman campaign, Johnny was invited to be a Camp Counselor at the Manning Passing Academy in July of 2013; only to be dismissed after oversleeping and failing to attend the first few meetings of the camp. Manziel was also suspended by Texas A&M for the first half of the season opener in 2013 against Rice University. The suspension was for an “inadvertent violation” of NCAA rules for allegedly accepting money for autographs. Nonetheless, Johnny ended up with the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, proclaiming he was ready to “wreck” the NFL.
In his two NFL seasons, Manziel’s resting stat line is: 147-258 (57% completion percentage), 1,675 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 22 sacks surrendered, 74.4 Quarterback Rating, 46 carries, 259 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, and 7 total fumbles (3 Lost). Showing flashes here and there, he hasn’t yet put it all together on the field, and from the latest pictures circulating throughout social media, he looks like he might have to put on a few pounds just to get close to last season’s playing weight.
To conclude, Johnny Manziel is simply an enigma. His polarization captivated America’s attention when he was running wild at A&M, but Cleveland surely drained most of his positive mojo. Now, as he’s left standing in the wind, with no team, no agent, and almost no hope… the story of Johnny Manziel could go one of two ways. One, he seeks help and ever so slowly begins to rebuild his image, and possibly his brand. In the best case scenario, he would join with another NFL team down the road with a chance to compete. Or two, the train wreck continues, and we witness the ultimate sports equivalent to a Britney Spears’ circa 2007-style meltdown leading to Johnny’s professional demise. Either way, as Terrell Owens would say, “Better have your popcorn ready.”
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