Speaker 1: Welcome back to playing dirty sports Scandals were I sportscaster
Speaker 1: and scandal server Extraordinariy Jay Harris guide you through some
Speaker 1: of sports darkest chapters. You may recall that last week
Speaker 1: we kicked off the Johnny Manziel or should I say
Speaker 1: Johnny Football story about an unbelievably gifted quarterback struggling to
Speaker 1: toe the line off the GridION. Were Johnny's off field
Speaker 1: antics from NCAA violation, breaches and fights to fake id's
Speaker 1: and late night partying end his career at the college level?
Speaker 1: Or was he destined for the NFL? I? Yes, all
Speaker 1: the ingredients were in the mix for Johnny Football to
Speaker 1: become a legend. Unparalleled athleticism check, charisma check a doring
Speaker 1: fans check. But would he ultimately score his dream touchdown
Speaker 1: by turning pro? Time would tell? Now. You might remember
Speaker 1: that Johnny had been red shirted by a Texas A
Speaker 1: and M head coach Kevin Sumler. This meant that even
Speaker 1: though college sophomores typically aren't eligible for the NFL draft,
Speaker 1: Johnny was since he was in his third academic year
Speaker 1: remember his first technical year. As in Aggie had been
Speaker 1: taking classes and training with the team his second year
Speaker 1: had been his freshman football debut, and so by his
Speaker 1: sophomore year, Johnny had completed sufficient college for the showpiece event,
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft. But even though Johnny Manziel could be
Speaker 1: drafted under eligibility rules, there were some who didn't believe
Speaker 1: he should head to the NFL, at least not yet.
Speaker 1: First and foremost, Johnny's parents seemed to be concerned about
Speaker 1: their erratic son turning pro in the midst of his
Speaker 1: slew of public flare ups, even though they knew that
Speaker 1: if Johnny did go to the NFL, he would likely
Speaker 1: gain millions of dollars in sponsorships out the gate. According
Speaker 1: to the Bleacher Report, after winning the twenty twelve Heisman Trophy,
Speaker 1: Johnny Manziel estimated that he would have been worth probably
Speaker 1: ten million dollars in NIL endorsements after his red shirt
Speaker 1: sophomore season, and could have collected five million through his
Speaker 1: social media channels alone. The fact that Johnny's financial prospects
Speaker 1: were so strong in this moment underscore at least some
Speaker 1: of the probable logic behind his father's next move. Paul
Speaker 1: Manziel met with Texas A and M head coach Kevin
Speaker 1: Sumlin and tried to cut a deal for Johnny to
Speaker 1: see his college education through. Johnny himself recounted what apparently
Speaker 1: went down on Shannon Sharp's Club Shay Shape podcast, saying
Speaker 1: it was the spring of twenty fourteen, or maybe December
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen, right in there about December or January, and
Speaker 1: I'm getting ready to make this say on if I'm
Speaker 1: going to the NFL Draft or if I'm going to
Speaker 1: stay at Texas A and M. I didn't find this
Speaker 1: out until five years later from my dad. But my
Speaker 1: dad went and had a meeting with Kevin Sumlet and
Speaker 1: pretty much went to him manned man and was like,
Speaker 1: we'll take three million dollars and he'll stay for the
Speaker 1: next two years. Interesting, huh. Now, this practice wasn't unique
Speaker 1: to the Manziell family. These types of transactions were part
Speaker 1: of a long standing tradition in collegiate sports, reflecting the
Speaker 1: secretive yet widespread practice of under the table deals before
Speaker 1: the era of name, image and likeness agreements. But it
Speaker 1: was noteworthy that Johnny Manziel's dad tried to cut a
Speaker 1: pay to play deal with A and M that would
Speaker 1: have almost certainly been far less than his son's earnings
Speaker 1: in the NFL. We can only speculate on Paul Manziel's motivations, but,
Speaker 1: as most parents would agree, keeping your kid out of
Speaker 1: trouble is priceless, and maybe, just maybe Paul Aul Manziel
Speaker 1: believed that giving Johnny more time to mature before turning
Speaker 1: pro would ultimately pay off in spades. But as the
Speaker 1: saying goes, the devil fools with the best laid plans,
Speaker 1: and Paul Manziel's attempt was quickly thwarted when coach Kevin
Speaker 1: Sumlin and Texas A and M did not agree to
Speaker 1: cutting the discreete deal. Given that the college's donations had
Speaker 1: more than doubled due to Johnny's playing, it's actually remarkable
Speaker 1: that the school turned down the offer to keep him
Speaker 1: for two more years for just three million dollars. Perhaps
Speaker 1: A and M was unique in its institutional commitment to
Speaker 1: not playing dirty, or perhaps the administration had a feeling
Speaker 1: that Johnny football was about to go off the rails
Speaker 1: and become a liability. In any event, Rumor has it
Speaker 1: that coach Sumlin laughed at Paul Manziel's proposal and no
Speaker 1: money changed hands, So Johnny Manziel riding high as one
Speaker 1: of college football's biggest breakout stars was headed for the
Speaker 1: NFL Draft. You probably think that's the sound of a
Speaker 1: drink being excitedly poured, but you'd be wrong. That's the
Speaker 1: sound that almost unraveled Johnny Manziel's NFL career before it
Speaker 1: had even begun. A positive drug test. Nobody could believe it.
Speaker 1: In Netflix's documentary Untold Johnny Football, Johnny Manziel's agent, Eric
Speaker 1: Burkhardt recalls how flummoxed he was that his client had
Speaker 1: risked flushing away his draft chances. According to Eric, there
Speaker 1: had been a rigorous drug testing regimen set up, especially
Speaker 1: to ensure that Johnny was clean at this pivotal moment.
Speaker 1: I knew Johnny's habits would be an issue, so I
Speaker 1: wanted proof he was drug free, the frustrated agent explained.
Speaker 1: But somehow, despite the tight structure put in place to
Speaker 1: support Johnny's success, a week before the scouting combine, he lapsed.
Speaker 1: Johnny attended a party in Hollywood, and the next morning
Speaker 1: it became clear to him and everyone on his team
Speaker 1: that he partied far too hard. Fearing that a positive
Speaker 1: drug test on the day of the combine could plummet
Speaker 1: his draft stock from a potential first round pick to
Speaker 1: possibly going undrafted altogether. Eric advised Johnny to skip the combine.
Speaker 1: Did Johnny listen though, Well, at this point I think
Speaker 1: you know the answer to that. Johnny was determined to
Speaker 1: attend the scouting combine and so backed into an impossible position.
Speaker 1: Eric put on his agent problem solving hat and devised
Speaker 1: a plan. And not just any plan. It was an
Speaker 1: absolute shocker. I called Johnny's parents, Paula Michelle, Eric admitted
Speaker 1: in the Netflix documentary years later. I said, you're checking
Speaker 1: yourself into the hospital, Paul with a heavy heart, so
Speaker 1: that Johnny can divert and come to the combine for
Speaker 1: twelve hours so that it doesn't look weird. We'll put
Speaker 1: him on a place to go see dad in the hospital.
Speaker 1: But this scheme was rejected by Johnny when he caught
Speaker 1: wind of it, and the troublesome quarterback took the situation
Speaker 1: into his own hands. According to Eric, Johnny came to
Speaker 1: him and said, I've been passing these tests at A
Speaker 1: and M for a while, and then he revealed, in
Speaker 1: a shocking confession of cheating, that it had actually been
Speaker 1: the Aggie's fourth string quarterback, providing clean urine samples for him.
Speaker 1: All along. Johnny had also picked up another trick that
Speaker 1: he could chug water and flush the toxins from his system.
Speaker 1: Since he could hardly take the fourth string Aggie's quarterback
Speaker 1: to the scouting combine without raising eyebrows, Johnny went for
Speaker 1: his ladder strategy. He crushed liquids and continued taking drug
Speaker 1: tests in Eric Burkhardt's room until the results were satisfactory
Speaker 1: to them. Both. Against all the odds, Johnny Manziel performed
Speaker 1: well at the NFL scouting combine, but there was the
Speaker 1: constant churn of self inflicted challenge around Johnny Manziel by
Speaker 1: this time, and so it was sadly no surprise to
Speaker 1: anyone that the relief of getting through the scouting combine
Speaker 1: was short lived. Eric Burkhardt, who frankly sounds like the
Speaker 1: most committed agent going, had arranged a private workout for
Speaker 1: his client with the Cleveland Browns coaches at Texas A
Speaker 1: and M's indoor facility to give Johnny a chance to
Speaker 1: flex his skills for the pros. But was Johnny appreciative
Speaker 1: of his agent's efforts. Nope. Imagine the morning when it
Speaker 1: was time for the private workout, and the receiver's schedule
Speaker 1: to work with Johnny Manziel were no shows. Why because
Speaker 1: the dinner in College Station with the Cleveland Browns executives
Speaker 1: the night before had gotten out of hand, with Johnny
Speaker 1: himself at the heart of the celebrations. By the time
Speaker 1: everyone was due to meet up for the private practice
Speaker 1: the next morning, one receiver was missing and another one
Speaker 1: was so drunk he could get up. Johnny, who was
Speaker 1: used to playing after partying, did show up, but his
Speaker 1: opportunity to demonstrate his abilities with the Cleveland Browns coaches
Speaker 1: was scuppered. It was Easter weekend, so literally nobody was
Speaker 1: on campus, and the workout was at A and m's
Speaker 1: indoor facility. In the previous night's haze, somehow, Johnny also
Speaker 1: lost his bag. Eric Burkhardt tweeted later detailing the chaos
Speaker 1: of the day. Without cleats or proper attire, Johnny and
Speaker 1: his support team faced an almost comical predicament. Keep in mind,
Speaker 1: we had just negotiated the largest shoe deal ever in
Speaker 1: the history of the NFL pre draft with Nike. Eric
Speaker 1: at it, emphasizing the irony of the situation. We had
Speaker 1: a whole Johnny football line with royalties, etc. And still
Speaker 1: couldn't manage to get dressed properly. With the workout looming
Speaker 1: at eight am, two Aggie receivers as no shows thanks
Speaker 1: to their night out with Johnny and no possibility to
Speaker 1: buy new gear in time, desperation led to drastic measures.
Speaker 1: The equipment staff and coaches were out of town for
Speaker 1: Eastern so we literally had to break into the equipment
Speaker 1: cage at A and M with like a tire iron.
Speaker 1: Eric revealed. Then Johnny ended up wearing oversized Adidas cleats
Speaker 1: and tiny A and M shorts that he had worn
Speaker 1: under his genes the night before as Eric and Johnny's
Speaker 1: attorney stood in for the missing NFL receivers. This frenzied
Speaker 1: situation at yet another future determining event perfectly encapsulated the
Speaker 1: unpredictable and often have hazard nature of Johnny Manzel's journey
Speaker 1: to the NFL, characterized by his immense talent on the
Speaker 1: field and his equally immense challenges off it. The private session,
Speaker 1: although far from conventional, was viewed by the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: executives and highlighted the links to which his team would
Speaker 1: go to keep his professional dreams on track in spite
Speaker 1: of Johnny himself. As the date of the NFL Draft
Speaker 1: drew ever nearer, the spotlight on Johnny Manziel grew increasingly intense.
Speaker 1: His every move was scrutinized not just by the media
Speaker 1: now but by potential NFL teams. In twenty fourteen, with
Speaker 1: the Houston Texans holding the coveted first overall pick, speculations
Speaker 1: surged around whether Johnny Manziel could be selected to continue
Speaker 1: his football career in his home state of Texas. His
Speaker 1: lone star fans certainly wanted to keep him around. In fact,
Speaker 1: one Influentio Texas Han m fan even commissioned a billboard
Speaker 1: in the Houston area encouraging the Houston Texans said draft
Speaker 1: Johnny with the first pick. The billboard read keep Johnny
Speaker 1: football in Texas, and initially it seemed as though the
Speaker 1: fans would have their way. Interactions between Johnny Manziel and
Speaker 1: the Houston Texans began positively. Johnny was pulling out all
Speaker 1: all the stops to make a good impression with his
Speaker 1: top pick. He even participated in an uncharacteristically drama free
Speaker 1: manner at a major charity event at the river Oaks
Speaker 1: Country Club in Houston. The Texans owner, Bob McNair and
Speaker 1: his wife Janis were likely impressed to see Johnny contributing
Speaker 1: his own money to the charity. In the words of
Speaker 1: Johnny's agent, Eric, the event was a phenomenal success. But
Speaker 1: in typical Johnny Manziel fashion, this momentum in the right
Speaker 1: direction came to an abrupt halt the very next day
Speaker 1: when he exercised grossly inappropriate behavior on the river Oaks
Speaker 1: country Club golf course. Johnny recounted receiving the call that
Speaker 1: would significantly dampen Johnny's prospects with the Texans. The next day,
Speaker 1: I get a call, Eric's shared in the Netflix documentary.
Speaker 1: They said Johnny was golfing today at river Oaks Country Club,
Speaker 1: and it got back to the owner's family that Johnny
Speaker 1: by whole five, taking his shirt off, looked intoxicated and
Speaker 1: broke multiple clubs over his knee and threw them in
Speaker 1: the pond. There goes Houston, is what I thought. Johnny's
Speaker 1: long suffering agent sure had his work cut out for him.
Speaker 1: The dream of Johnny Manziel being drafted first overall by
Speaker 1: the Houston Texans was over. The franchise's owner, Bob McNair
Speaker 1: explained to ESPN exactly why he decided to pass on Johnny, saying,
Speaker 1: I knew with Manziel that would be a frenzy long term.
Speaker 1: We had questions as to how well he'd fit in
Speaker 1: our system doing what we wanted to do, and so
Speaker 1: with Houston now definitely off the table, Johnny and Eric
Speaker 1: turned their attention to other options. What other NFL teams
Speaker 1: needed a quarterback refresh and how could they best set
Speaker 1: the stage for a now uncertain draft day strategy dictated
Speaker 1: that the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns would be
Speaker 1: for picking up Johnny. These teams held the third and
Speaker 1: fourth overall picks, respectively, and both franchises were in desperate
Speaker 1: need of a quarterback to revitalize their squads. Additionally, the
Speaker 1: Oakland Raiders with the fifth pick, and the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 1: who held the eighth pick, were also in the mix.
Speaker 1: The air was thick with speculation, with fans and analysts
Speaker 1: making predictions and placing bets on where Johnny Football might land,
Speaker 1: But as the draft kicked off, it quickly became clear
Speaker 1: that the concerns about Johnny's off field behavior and uncertainty
Speaker 1: about his transition to the NFL was causing his stock
Speaker 1: to slip. One by one. Teams passed on the opportunity
Speaker 1: to draft him, opting instead for players with less risk attached.
Speaker 1: The tension in the draft room was palpable as the
Speaker 1: picks ticked by, with Johnny's name conspicuously unmentioned. The weight
Speaker 1: stretched on for over three hours. It was an agon
Speaker 1: period for Johnny Manzil, who had entered the draft with
Speaker 1: hopes of a top pick. Finally, a pivotal moment came
Speaker 1: that would change the course of the evening. Cleveland Brown's
Speaker 1: quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggins later revealed after the draft in
Speaker 1: a radio interview on Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly that
Speaker 1: a message came to him directly from Johnny and made
Speaker 1: all the difference. As Johnny saw himself sliding down the
Speaker 1: draft board, he texted coach Dowell Loggins, I wish you
Speaker 1: guys would come get me. Hurry up and draft me,
Speaker 1: because I want to wreck this league together. This message,
Speaker 1: infused with Johnny's characteristic boldness and desire to make an impact,
Speaker 1: resonated strongly. Coach Loggins, moved by Johnny's enthusiasm, quickly forwarded
Speaker 1: the message to the rest of the Cleveland Browns staff
Speaker 1: and administration. When I got that text, I forwarded to
Speaker 1: the owner, Jimmy Haslam, and to the head coach, Mike Petton.
Speaker 1: I'm like, this guy wants to be here, he wants
Speaker 1: to be part of it. As soon as that happened,
Speaker 1: mister Haslam said, pull the trigger. We're trading up to
Speaker 1: get this guy, And just like that, Johnny Manziel had
Speaker 1: once again put himself back in play. The Cleveland Browns,
Speaker 1: a team that had historically struggled with quarterback stability, saw
Speaker 1: in Johnny Manziel not just a talented player, but that
Speaker 1: spark of potential brilliance that could turn their fortune around.
Speaker 1: After all, the Cleveland Browns were one of only four
Speaker 1: teams never to appear in a Super Bowl, a drought
Speaker 1: of decades. Driven by Johnny Manziel's eagerness and maybe their
Speaker 1: own desperation, the Browns moved up four spots to select
Speaker 1: Johnny at number twenty two, deciding to take the plunge
Speaker 1: and bring into their fold the player who promised to
Speaker 1: quote wreck the league. The immediate impact of Johnny Manziel's
Speaker 1: selection was nothing short of explosive. Within just twenty five
Speaker 1: minutes of announcing his draft, the Cleveland Browns had sold
Speaker 1: two hundred new season tickets and seen an additional three
Speaker 1: hundred renewals. The excitement was palpable, as the team vice
Speaker 1: president shared that the phones were ringing off the hook,
Speaker 1: signaling a surge of renewed interest and optimism among the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns fan base. Meanwhile, the buzz spread to social media,
Speaker 1: where another Browns executive posted a photo of the newly
Speaker 1: minted Johnny Manzil jerseys now available at the team shop,
Speaker 1: ready for eager fans looking to don the number of
Speaker 1: their new quarterback. This whirlwind of activity underscored the high
Speaker 1: hopes and high stakes accompanying Johnny's arrival in Cleveland. Given
Speaker 1: his history, this high level of pressure on Johnny was
Speaker 1: never likely to end well. Okay, get hydrated and brace yourself,
Speaker 1: because we're about to take a wild ride on Johnny
Speaker 1: Manziel's roller coaster NFL career enter the league with a
Speaker 1: chip on his shoulder and an on field reputation to
Speaker 1: defend the long wait on draft day and slide to
Speaker 1: the twenty second overall pick. Had been humbling for Johnny,
Speaker 1: who was accustomed to fanfare and adulation from his college
Speaker 1: station fans at Texas A and M. In fact, Johnny
Speaker 1: told the press that he would remember the teams that
Speaker 1: did not pick him. I'm going to take a very
Speaker 1: aggressive mindset into it, Johnny said. I'm going to work
Speaker 1: extremely hard to get what I want, and I know
Speaker 1: what that is. I want to win and I want
Speaker 1: to be successful. The amount of time I put in
Speaker 1: and the heart I put into this, which I know
Speaker 1: I'm capable of doing, will tell the tale. But can
Speaker 1: a tiger ever really change its stripes? Johnny's bumpy draft
Speaker 1: experience had set the tone for his NFL career. Things
Speaker 1: were off to a rocky start, and the drama was
Speaker 1: just beginning. As Johnny suited up in brown and orange
Speaker 1: for Cleveland, the excitement and optimism that heralded his arrival
Speaker 1: soon gave way to the stark realities of NFL life.
Speaker 1: His time with the Cleveland Browns was characterized by a
Speaker 1: series of ups and downs that mirrored his tumultuous tenure
Speaker 1: at Texas A and M. Initially, the franchise and its
Speaker 1: fans hoped that Johnny's dynamic abilities could translate into a
Speaker 1: revitalizing force for a team in desperate need of a turnaround,
Speaker 1: but not all college stars translate to knockout professional athletes,
Speaker 1: and Johnny's rookie season was a mixture of brief flashes
Speaker 1: of potential coupled with struggles both on and off the field.
Speaker 1: Within months of his NFL debut, Johnny was fined twelve
Speaker 1: thousand dollars by the NFL for giving the middle finger
Speaker 1: to the Washington Redskins bench during a preseason game. But
Speaker 1: perhaps more worrying for the Cleveland Browns was that Johnny's
Speaker 1: improvisational playing style, while electrifying in college, faced different hurdles
Speaker 1: in the structured environment of professional football, and their new
Speaker 1: recruit wasn't putting in the work required to level up
Speaker 1: his skills. Several sources within the team indicated that Johnny
Speaker 1: Manziel struggled with the basics of play calling. On multiple occasions,
Speaker 1: he seemed not to know the plays in the huddle
Speaker 1: or didn't call them correctly, raising concerns about his grasp
Speaker 1: of the playbook. Johnny's off the cuff playing style was
Speaker 1: simply not working in the NFL, and despite Johnny's pledge
Speaker 1: to do everything he could to succeed. It was soon
Speaker 1: clear that these were empty words. After all, the bare
Speaker 1: minimum for a quarterback in the NFL is to learn
Speaker 1: the playbook. Don't you think one of the responsibilities of
Speaker 1: NFL players is to tackle a fundamental aspect of professional
Speaker 1: football film study. Film study in football is a crucial
Speaker 1: practice that allows players and coaches to gain a competitive
Speaker 1: edge in game. Footage helps players to understand opponents tendencies,
Speaker 1: recognize formations, and anticipate plays. It's absolutely necessary for professional
Speaker 1: players to engage in this minimum requirement. Yet, in a
Speaker 1: revealing insight from the Netflix documentary about Johnny's career, his
Speaker 1: agent Eric Burkhardt, disclosed it while in Cleveland, Johnny never studied.
Speaker 1: I mean he never watched tape ever. Not a game,
Speaker 1: not a play, not a second nothing. By comparison, some
Speaker 1: of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time, players like
Speaker 1: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Patrick Mahomes, are renowned for
Speaker 1: their ferocious film study habits. Johnny's utter lack of effort
Speaker 1: drove the Cleveland Browns management to intervene. The GM called
Speaker 1: me and said, he's not watching tape. Eric recounted. When
Speaker 1: Eric pressed the GM for more details, asking if Johnny
Speaker 1: had even spent a minimal amount of time on this
Speaker 1: crucial task, the reply was stark. Eric, the GM said,
Speaker 1: his iPad hours is zero point zero zero. How was
Speaker 1: super Agent Eric supposed to mitigate the fallout from this
Speaker 1: latest bombshell? He could hardly contest the Cleveland Brown's report.
Speaker 1: After all, the team had provided Johnny with an iPad
Speaker 1: loaded with game film, which also allowed coaches to track
Speaker 1: his engagement. The tool didn't lie, and so backed into
Speaker 1: a corner. Neither did Johnny. When asked directly about the
Speaker 1: time he spent on film study, Johnny simply stated zero.
Speaker 1: Only thirty two individuals in the world earned starting quarterback
Speaker 1: positions each week. How infuriating to hear from one of
Speaker 1: those talented, immensely lucky few that maintaining such a big
Speaker 1: dream wasn't worth even a small effort. But we've all
Speaker 1: heard the saying you get out what you put in,
Speaker 1: and Johnny Manziel was in for a rude awakening. Johnny's
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen NFL season with the Cleveland Browns was lackluster.
Speaker 1: He played in five games, started in two and clearly
Speaker 1: struggled with the professional level of play. He completed eighteen
Speaker 1: of thirty five passes for a total of one hundred
Speaker 1: and seventy five yards, threw no touchdowns, and was intercepted twice. Additionally,
Speaker 1: he was sacked three times and rushed for a total
Speaker 1: of just twenty nine yards or nine attempts ouch. His
Speaker 1: performance was definitely not living up to the spectacle of
Speaker 1: the Aggies legendary Johnny football. In fact, another Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: player anonymously told ESPN that Johnny's entire twenty fourteen season
Speaker 1: was one hundred percent joke. This blood assessment echoed broader
Speaker 1: concerns within the Cleveland Browns organization about Johnny Manziel's technical
Speaker 1: readiness for a professional football and Johnny's off field behavior
Speaker 1: was once again only adding to the franchise's concerns. As
Speaker 1: Sports Business journal reporter John Oran put it to NPR
Speaker 1: reporter David Green, Johnny Manziel has been photographed partying everywhere
Speaker 1: from Las Vegas to bartending at a nightclub in Austin, Texas.
Speaker 1: If you play on an NFL team, people want you
Speaker 1: to play inside the lines. They don't like anybody that's
Speaker 1: a swashbuckler that does anything that could potentially be a distraction.
Speaker 1: Johnny Manziel was both distracted and a distraction. Cleveland dot
Speaker 1: Com captured the essence of Johnny Manziel's behavior at this time.
Speaker 1: Writing at the NFL Rookie Symposium in Los Angeles in May,
Speaker 1: just weeks after the draft, Johnny Manziel crawled under a
Speaker 1: skirted table and took a nap during an autograph session
Speaker 1: with potential sponsors after a night out with Rapper Drake
Speaker 1: and friends. From there, the Progressive Party traveled to Las Vegas, Austin, Texas,
Speaker 1: and back to Los Angeles. It included Johnny's infamous intoxicated
Speaker 1: float on an inflatable swan, making it rain in the club,
Speaker 1: shouting an F bomb into his money foam with bleary eyes,
Speaker 1: a visit to Justin Bieber's house with Floyd Mayweather and friends,
Speaker 1: and more. But the photo the Cleveland Browns found most alarming,
Speaker 1: a source told Northeast Ohio Media Group, was the one
Speaker 1: in which he was rolling up a bill in the
Speaker 1: bathroom of a bar on July seventh, twenty fourteen, that
Speaker 1: set the alarm bells off. A disaster was brewing, perhaps
Speaker 1: recognizing he had a serious personal and public image problem,
Speaker 1: Johnny Manziel at last took a significant step by entering
Speaker 1: a rehab facility at the start of twenty fifteen. This
Speaker 1: decision appeared to mark a turning point and was publicly
Speaker 1: supported by the Cleveland Browns organization. Coach Mike Patton directly
Speaker 1: expressed his support, emphasizing the priority of Johnny Manziel's personal
Speaker 1: recovery over football. For his football to get where it
Speaker 1: needs to be, he needs to get the personal life
Speaker 1: where it needs to be. Coach Petton said this takes precedence,
Speaker 1: so however much time he needs, the football will be
Speaker 1: there when he gets out. The move to enter rehab
Speaker 1: was seen as an attempt by Johnny Manziel to confront
Speaker 1: his issues head on, acknowledging the impact of his actions
Speaker 1: on his professional obligations and personal life. It should have
Speaker 1: been a period of introspection and recovery, but was it.
Speaker 1: When Johnny came out of rehab ten weeks later, the
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns took a cautiously optimistic stance, expressing hope for
Speaker 1: a strong twenty fifteen season. Coach Mike Petten seemed proud
Speaker 1: that his young quarterback had invested effort into recovery, saying,
Speaker 1: Johnny has worked hard and we expect him to continue
Speaker 1: his positive trajectory. The twenty fifteen season would be a
Speaker 1: critical test of Johnny's ability to apply what he had
Speaker 1: learned and demonstrate that he he could be both a
Speaker 1: reliable team member and a dynamic playmaker on the field.
Speaker 1: Knowing this, coach Patten eased Johnny back into play, commencing
Speaker 1: the twenty fifteen NFL season with Johnny as the backup
Speaker 1: quarterback to Josh McCown. This would, in the organization's view,
Speaker 1: allow Johnny to rejoin the competitive environment of NFL play
Speaker 1: while remaining under close watch by management who were keen
Speaker 1: to monitor his progress and behavior. But Johnny Manziel's recovery,
Speaker 1: growth and new lease on a potential storybook NFL life
Speaker 1: was sadly not destined to be. Johnny let himself down
Speaker 1: in a new spectacular fashion by adding domestic violence to
Speaker 1: his litany of bad behaviors. Starting in June twenty fourteen,
Speaker 1: Johnny Manziel had gone social media official with Colleen Crowley,
Speaker 1: the daughter of an oil executive, a model, and a
Speaker 1: student at Texas Christian University. Though from the outside looking in,
Speaker 1: Johnny and Colleen seemed like a madly in love power couple,
Speaker 1: the reality was that Colleen was privately trying to hold
Speaker 1: Johnny together after his demotion from starting quarterback to back
Speaker 1: up for Josh McCown. Later, in a twenty eighteen interview
Speaker 1: with The New York Post, Colleen said, I think there
Speaker 1: was some mental breakdown because the way Johnny was acting.
Speaker 1: It wasn't anything like drugs or alcohol would affect a person.
Speaker 1: This was more deep rooted, regardless of what was driving him.
Speaker 1: On October twelfth, twenty fifteen, the cracks in the Johnny
Speaker 1: Manziel and Colleen Crowley love facade became public when police
Speaker 1: pulled them over in Avon, Ohio after multiple calls about
Speaker 1: dangerous speeding. Dash KIM video showed Colleen trying to open
Speaker 1: the passenger side door as the car was in motion.
Speaker 1: As reported by CNN, Colleen Crowley told police that Johnny
Speaker 1: had hit her several times to prevent her from leaving
Speaker 1: the car. However, she downplayed the incident. I don't want
Speaker 1: to make a big deal, she said, But even though
Speaker 1: no charges were filed, it certainly was a big deal.
Speaker 1: The NFL promptly launched its own investigation into the incident,
Speaker 1: and even though they determined not to discipline Johnny Manziel,
Speaker 1: damage had unquestionably been done to his already low bar reputation.
Speaker 1: Confidence in Johnny's ability to be an asset rather than
Speaker 1: a liability was now practically non existent, and even public
Speaker 1: opinion had largely soured. In fact, Player Perspective ran an
Speaker 1: article about Johnny football called when is It Okay to
Speaker 1: Be an Asshole? Questioning whether athletes who behaved like Johnny
Speaker 1: were frankly a blight on their sport and society as
Speaker 1: a whole. As twenty fifteen rolled over into twenty sixteen,
Speaker 1: it became clear that Johnny was totally out of control
Speaker 1: as another troubling series of events unfolded. On January second,
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, Johnny was cited by North Olmsted, Ohio police
Speaker 1: for driving with expired plates on the same Nissan FTR
Speaker 1: vehicle involved in his October twenty fifteen incident. Then the
Speaker 1: very next day, he missed a Cleveland Brown's game against
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reports soon surfaced that Johnny Manzel had
Speaker 1: spent the weekend in Las Vegas. Prior to his citation
Speaker 1: and missing the game, Johnny had hit Sinn City using
Speaker 1: the alias Billy and dotting a disguise that included a
Speaker 1: fake mustache and a wig. Even taking these precautions, Johnny
Speaker 1: didn't go unnoticed, and soon his escapade was making national headlines.
Speaker 1: This ill timed adventure, just before the Cleveland Browns final
Speaker 1: game of the season, left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
Speaker 1: I'm talking you tried to blend avocado into a juice
Speaker 1: brad level bad taste. Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins chose his
Speaker 1: words carefully when reflecting on his teammates wild behavior, but
Speaker 1: the message was clear. Johnny's in his own world. The
Speaker 1: Cleveland Brown's management and coaching staff were getting fed up
Speaker 1: with Johnny's world. They understandably viewed his decision to party
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas, especially at such a critical time for
Speaker 1: the team, as a blatant disregard for his professional responsibilities
Speaker 1: and a direct challenge to the team's ethos and discipline expectations.
Speaker 1: But even as they were working themselves into a lather
Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to cope with their increasingly
Speaker 1: off the rails, quarterback Johnny managed to make a bad
Speaker 1: situation worse. On January thirty, at twenty sixteen, Johnny invited
Speaker 1: his then ex girlfriend Colleen Crowley to meet him at
Speaker 1: Hotels Zaza in Dallas for a party. Colleen had broken
Speaker 1: up with Johnny on December fifteenth, twenty fifteen, after months
Speaker 1: of intense instability, but the two had remained in contact
Speaker 1: and it seemed that a renew union might be in
Speaker 1: the cards. According to Cinemahalic, Colleen arrived at Hotel Zazade
Speaker 1: around two am since she'd already been out with her friends,
Speaker 1: but when she tried to leave after briefly catching up
Speaker 1: with Johnny, he refused to let her go. A Fort
Speaker 1: Worth police report obtained by ESPN later revealed that Johnny
Speaker 1: allegedly hit Colleen several times at the hotel. Colleen later
Speaker 1: disclosed that one of the blows left her completely deaf
Speaker 1: in one ear for three and a half months. Terrible
Speaker 1: though all of that is, the meetup devolved further as
Speaker 1: Johnny forced Colleen into a car and drove them from
Speaker 1: the hotel to her apartment. While speeding to Colleen's place,
Speaker 1: Johnny allegedly maniacally threatened to kill them both He was
Speaker 1: apparently laughing, crying, and driving simultaneously in such a deep
Speaker 1: rooted manner that Colleen was genuinely petrified. Their altercation reached
Speaker 1: an even more terrifying climax once they arrived at the apartment,
Speaker 1: where Colleen, fearing for her life, wielded a knife to
Speaker 1: defend herself. He was just very volatile and angry and scary,
Speaker 1: Colleen told The New York Post. He was someone I
Speaker 1: did not know anymore. Johnny Manziel fled the scene once
Speaker 1: Colleen picked up the knife and was later indicted on
Speaker 1: misdemeanor assault charges with in order to stay away from
Speaker 1: Colleen Crowley and avoid firearms. Even for Johnny Manziel's closest
Speaker 1: circle of supporters, this incident was the last straw. Johnny's agent,
Speaker 1: Eric Burkardt called it quits, saying that Johnny Manziel needed
Speaker 1: to seek further treatment. When Eric, who had done everything
Speaker 1: from oversea drug testing strategies to running actual pass routes
Speaker 1: for his client's combine workout, decided to part ways, it
Speaker 1: was a clear signal that Johnny's heyday was over. The
Speaker 1: cumulative impact of Johnny's repeated indiscretions and the very public
Speaker 1: nature of his assault on Colleen Crowley were too much
Speaker 1: for the Cleveland Browns to overlook. As well, the management
Speaker 1: cut ties with Johnny, leaving him without a place in
Speaker 1: the NFL. In the aftermath of his short but tumultuous
Speaker 1: NFL career, Johnny Manziel sought ways to make a comeback
Speaker 1: in professional football and to reshape his public image. He
Speaker 1: ventured north to the Canadian Football League and later joined
Speaker 1: the ranks of the Alliance of American Football in Canada,
Speaker 1: he signed with the Hamilton Tigercats in May of twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: Since other players have moved from other leagues to the NFL,
Speaker 1: Johnny likely hoped to do the same, but his time
Speaker 1: in the Canadian Football League was short lived. He was
Speaker 1: traded to the Montreal Alouettes, where he started several games
Speaker 1: before his inconsistent performances and a breach of his agreement
Speaker 1: with the league led to his termination in February twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: Johnny later revealed that his agreement with the Canadian Football
Speaker 1: League required him to attend therapy and take tests that
Speaker 1: showed he was seeking treatment for bipolar disorder. Shortly after
Speaker 1: his exit from Canada, Johnny joined the Memphis Express of
Speaker 1: the Alliance of American Football. This new league was also
Speaker 1: seen as a potential stepping stone for his return to
Speaker 1: the NFL. Yet the Alliance of American Football itself faced
Speaker 1: financial difficulties and ceased operations shortly after Johnny began playing.
Speaker 1: Following his departures from the Canadian Football League and Alliance
Speaker 1: of American Football, Johnny seemed uncharacteristically self reflective. It wouldn't
Speaker 1: have mattered where I was at, what team, wherever I
Speaker 1: was at that point in time in my life, in
Speaker 1: my early twenties, I was incapable of being a good
Speaker 1: NFL quarterback, Johnny reflected. He added, when you get to
Speaker 1: that point, and you get to that time, you're supposed
Speaker 1: to know better. You're supposed to know what you're supposed
Speaker 1: to do. You're supposed to behave like a pro. You're
Speaker 1: supposed to to push your career forward, your athleticism forward.
Speaker 1: You strive for being a great athlete. But when it
Speaker 1: came down to it, I was a frat boy, and
Speaker 1: my frat was the football team. Johnny also candidly addressed
Speaker 1: deeper mental health issues that had influenced his erratic behavior.
Speaker 1: His public revelations about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder were
Speaker 1: highly unusual for a professional athlete. I got diagnosed as bipolar,
Speaker 1: and I felt like it was the same as being
Speaker 1: called an alcoholic or a drug addict, Johnny disclosed in
Speaker 1: a heartfelt admission, highlighting the stigma and personal battles often
Speaker 1: associated with mental health diagnoses. In a particularly vulnerable moment
Speaker 1: of the Netflix documentary about his life, Johnny shared the
Speaker 1: depth of his despair during his tumultuous NFL period. I
Speaker 1: thought I'd spend as much money as I possibly could,
Speaker 1: and then my plan was to take my life. Months prior,
Speaker 1: I went and bought a gun I knew I was
Speaker 1: going to use. That is a shocking admission from Johnny
Speaker 1: Manziel and demonstrates that no one is immune to mental
Speaker 1: health challenges, even when they're a standout athletic talent who
Speaker 1: seems to have it all. Today, Johnny Manziel has largely
Speaker 1: retreated from the public sports scene, focusing on personal endeavors
Speaker 1: and occasional media appearances where he discusses his journey and
Speaker 1: the lessons he's learned. He has been candid about the
Speaker 1: role his mental health and lifestyle choice has played in
Speaker 1: his professional struggles and expresses a continued commitment to bettering
Speaker 1: himself outside of the public eye. His efforts and openness
Speaker 1: about his challenges culminated in a moment of recognition when
Speaker 1: he was inducted into the Texas A and M Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame in twenty twenty two. This honor not only
Speaker 1: acknowledged his dynamic impact on college football, but also symbolized
Speaker 1: his ongoing journey towards personal growth and stability. Johnny man'sil
Speaker 1: remains a figure of public interest, not just for his
Speaker 1: past exploits and achievements on the field, but for his
Speaker 1: candid discourse on mental health. His story showcases the potential
Speaker 1: for individuals to confront their past, learn from it, and
Speaker 1: move forward. While Johnny may no longer be tearing up
Speaker 1: the gridiron, his ongoing journey offers a narrative of redemption.
Speaker 1: It's always nice to close a scandal with a taste
Speaker 1: of redemption. Regardless of how you feel about Johnny Manziel's
Speaker 1: efforts to write a new chapter for himself, it's nice
Speaker 1: to see that he's contributed to the Greater Cleveland Food
Speaker 1: Bank and the Lebron James Family Foundation, among other charities.
Speaker 1: In an effort to give back, I'll take a scandal
Speaker 1: that ends on a high note every time. Come thirsty
Speaker 1: and meet me back here at the Juice Barn next
Speaker 1: week for a fresh episode of Playing Dirty Sports Scandals.
Speaker 1: Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is a production of Dan Patrick Productions,
Speaker 1: Never Ever Productions and Workhouse Media from executive producers Dan Patrick,
Speaker 1: Paul Anderson, Nick Panella, Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Clary. Hosted
Speaker 1: by Jay Harris, Written and produced by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks,
Speaker 1: Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Clare.