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I have always said if I were ever involved in a football team (a girl can dream can't she?) I would ask some very pointed WHY questions.   This guy is considered the #1 pick, if we don't draft him our team is screwed.   WHY is he #1 draft pick?   Are you hot on him because everyone else is or are there tangible concrete reasons you can articulate.    This guy is THE HOT COACHING PROSPECT of the year we must hire him or we will be in last place forever.   WHY is he the hot coaching prospect?   I think people get caught up on the hype too much and don't ask the hard questions.

In Johnny's case, it would have been -- WHY does he party so much?  WHEN does he do his football study?   HOW often is he late to practice?  WHO does he hang out with -- do they enable him or help him?   WHERE is his head most of the time?    There's a reason he fell so far in the first round.   But people still didn't concentrate too hard on these questions because "well hell, that kid can chuck the ball downfield."

For players I would point out a few truths to them about their "friends."
    1.  Do your friends have JOBS or is their job hanging out at your house playing your video games all day?
     2.   Do your friends pay for anything themselves or do they expect you to always foot the bill? 

     3.   do they expect to go out clubbing constantly, with VIP treatment on your dime?
     4.   Do they want to go into business with you but they have no business plan, experience or even worked in the field where they want to go into business?
If the answers  to 1 or 2 is No then you need to kick them to the curb.   If the answer to 3 or 4 is Yes, kick them to the curb.   These people are not your friends.   They are parasites living off your success and will bring you down to their level -- unemployed and broke.   Real friends build you up.

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Yeah, I'm not seeing this issue as overly complicated, especially with literally millions of dollars on the line. You can't hire a PI? Those questions seem fairly obvious ones to ask. 

 

Part of the reason is that we're still treating college like it's an amateur sport and not a semi pro feeder league for the NFL. I'm sure lots of players could benefit from a 'team-pro' guy/consultant. 

In Johnny's case, it would have been -- WHY does he party so much?  WHEN does he do his football study?   HOW often is he late to practice?  WHO does he hang out with -- do they enable him or help him?   WHERE is his head most of the time?    There's a reason he fell so far in the first round.   But people still didn't concentrate too hard on these questions because "well hell, that kid can chuck the ball downfield."

 

According to the previous coaching staff, Johnny was an "A Plus in the building" this past year as far as preparing for games. Coach Pettine as well as other teammates mentioned how hard he worked at being prepared. He wasn't a problem on the field, and showed a lot of growth as a QB. The former Browns DC Jim O'Neil would talk about how he would show up early and stay late to study. According to them he was doing what he needed to do on the field.

 

The vast majority of his issues tend to be off the field. In general I don't have problem with most of his partying. There are a lot of other players including QB's that party, go to strip clubs, etc....Some of them do drugs as well. I think that most of his partying was no worse than the partying of other players. The media just likes to follow his every move and he seems to have terrible friends.

 

His friends really do seem like terrible friends. They are constantly selling him out to websites like TMZ and Busted Coverage. Even Jay Glazner of Fox Sports said that Johnny's friends were the ones that were selling/him ratting him out. I think he has WAY too MANY friends. He seems to be the type of guy that makes a "friend" wherever he goes. I think his friends mooch off him, sell/rat him out and aren't accomplished in any way.

 

I had said elsewhere that he needs to hang out with young professionals/young professional athletes and leave a lot of the trifling people that he is meeting in places like bars, alone. I think he needs to hang out with a much smaller group of people and stop making friends with hanger-ons. Granted he's made mistakes, but his friends are dragging him down big time. And they are doing it intentionally. He probably can't even sort out which ones are selling him out, because there are way too many of them doing it.

Edited by Jx223

Teams do put a lot of effort into judging the character of potential draft picks. Scouts develop relationships with not just the head coaches at colleges, but assistants and guys like strength coaches to get a more candid assessment. Teams send members of their security team to bars in order to anonymously watch guys and talk to local law enforcement to get info beyond arrest reports. Players take psychological exams. And that's just the stuff that's public knowledge. 

 

Sometimes those assessments about the future character of a player with a checkered past are correct, and you draft a Cam Newton or Tyrann Mathieu. Sometimes they aren't and you get Manziel or, worst case scenario, an Aaron Hernandez.

 

In the end, I think the Browns' problems aren't about judging character poorly, it's that they judge talent poorly.

 

(Right now, I'm watching an NBA game being called by Jay Williams. Who was a smart kid and had a solid reputation coming out of college. He also liked to ride really fast on his motorcycle. Figuring out how kids will react after making it big time is can be really difficult.)

 

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I remember Archie when he played his last season in '84 with our woeful Vikings (3-13 that year) and in a game against the Bears I thought he died on the field. Richard Dent got him by the jersey, spun him around right into an onrushing Otis Wilson. That was one of the most vicious sacks I'd ever seen and it was the Bears' 12th of the day.

Jesus Christ. CBS Evening News just did a story where the ending line was "the NFL is realizing that women are fast becoming its most valuable player."

Really? REALLY? We're still surprised at this shit? I don't know, maybe I'm an anomaly because I have lived and breathed this stupid game since November 1986. But can we get over this nonsense that it's surprising that women like this sport?!?

On another note, fuck Manziel. His girlfriend is reporting he hit her many times over the weekend so he needs to be out for good. And I don't think his partying is harmless. For a normal 22 year old, yes. For one who's been in rehab because he can't handle his drinking? No.

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Manziel and his girlfriend really need to go their separate ways. Isn't this the third incident where things have gotten physical?

It's the second. I just wanted to comment on this crazy, escalating Johnny Manziel situation. What a hot mess this this whole situation is turning out to be.  Here is a lot more details about this situation:

 

http://www.wfaa.com/sports/johnny-manziel-threatened-ex-girlfriend/32613842

 

His girlfriend is now alleging that he not only hit her, but that he is homicidal and suicidal and that she thinks he may be on drugs. She also claims she tried to hide in the bushes from him and that she went at him with a knife (in her apartment) but he fled from her on foot.

 

This will be the third time (from 3 police departments) that no charges would be filed against him. Which makes me wonder if maybe his girlfriend is lying about at least some stuff and that is why the cops are not bringing charges against him. If he's doing all of the stuff she's claimed, why haven't been the cops been able to charge him with ANYTHING?

 

Seems like there are a lot of holes here in this story. Girlfriend said he fled on foot after she approached him with a knife in her apartment. Now if that is the case, wouldn't his car have been left at her apartment complex and the cops would have that as evidence he was there. They did go after him with a helicopter, but when and where did they find him? Was he traveling on foot, or what? Plus Johnny has now denied all of her allegations to TMZ, so there is that as well.  He denied abusing her after the first incident. But not too many presented his side of the story, which you can hear on the dashcam from the Avon police department. So we basically have she said versus he said.

 

There could be a lot of things that are seriously wrong with Johnny. But I also wonder if maybe there are a lot of things seriously wrong with his girlfriend? Hmmm....

 

Sad that this sort of thing is in the news.

Edited by lam48

Or an abuser denies abusing anyone.   I rarely deal with a true abuse situationr -- not a situation that got out of hand and got physical, -where the abuser didn't deny ever doing anything.   If they do admit it, it always as an act of self-defense.  

 

I've also dealth with many vicitms who when in the immediate situation call the police.   Then when the police have arrived minimize what happened.   They do this for many reasons.  Or tell confusing stories because they are so frightened in the moment they aren't processing things so to have to recall it coherently is hard.   

 

As another attorney remarked when I saw the headline that the girlfriend was seeking a protective order "That's the two situations we know of, how many were there where the police weren't called?"

 

I am not surprised charges weren't filed - again.   Cops still hate dealing with "domestic arguments."  They just think its an argument and letting everyone cool down will solve the problem.   The other reason I am not surprised -- Johnny Manziel.   He might not have done much on the field, but he is very much recognized as a celebrity-athlete.   Just like all the football people give him chance after chance, so does law enforcement look the other way because he can chuck the ball down field and seems to have so much gosh darn fun while he's doing it.

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Or an abuser denies abusing anyone.   I rarely deal with a true abuse situationr -- not a situation that got out of hand and got physical, -where the abuser didn't deny ever doing anything.   If they do admit it, it always as an act of self-defense.  

 

I've also dealth with many vicitms who when in the immediate situation call the police.   Then when the police have arrived minimize what happened.   They do this for many reasons.  Or tell confusing stories because they are so frightened in the moment they aren't processing things so to have to recall it coherently is hard.   

 

I am not surprised charges weren't filed - again.   Cops still hate dealing with "domestic arguments."  They just think its an argument and letting everyone cool down will solve the problem.   

 

This whole situation just seems insane. I know this isn't a popular thing to say, but I believe that something isn't right with the girlfriend. I do. Not saying Johnny isn't culpable for stuff and doesn't have issues. but I think that the girlfriend could be lying/embellishing things.

 

It's one thing to say he's immature, and that he party/drinks too much. It's another thing to say he's abusive. But now he's abusive, SUICIDIAL and HOMICIDAL? He threaten to KILL the both of them? It's possible, but it just seems really outlandish like a scripted crime movie. There's two sides to this story. What is the heck is  REALLY going on here?

 

Still believe that one of the biggest reasons why he wasn't charged with anything is because the cops don't believe at least a lot of the stuff that Colleen is saying. With all of the stuff she was saying in the report, they couldn't get him on anything. Where is the valet, that she told she was fearful of her life? Where are her friends? Did he leave his car in the apartment parking complex, when he allegedly fled on foot?

 

During the first incident in AVON, SHE was almost arrested for being disorderly, and she was pretty drunk and also retracted her statements about Johnny. Now maybe she was afraid of him, or maybe she was lying. She did have a mark on her arm, but they determined that was because he was trying to get her from jumping out of the car. He could have been hitting her, or he could have just been trying to stop her from jumping from a moving car. In a 911 call, you could hear him pleading with her in the background "Saying Baby Please." I'm trying to take her home, I'm sober."

 

He could have been saying "Baby Please" as he was hitting her or maybe he was upset that she was trying to jump out of the car and was afraid she could have hurt herself. Maybe she was out of control. I've read several accounts reporting incidents of where she has been extremely drunk in public, to the point to where she was falling all over herself as well as throwing fits and insulting people in public. Someone said she was asked to leave a bar they were at last week because of how disruptive she was being.

 

Plus the NFL chose to not to discipline him the first time around, because they deemed they couldn't find anything to discipline him on. I don't believe they gave him special treatment. They may get him this time around. I don't know. What a MESS this situation is. I hope they stay away from each other.

Edited by lam48

 

I'm not saying he shouldn't be held responsible for his actions, or that none of this is his fault. I think he bought into the hype. He had so many people telling him he was the best thing on the field, and the majority of those people probably didn't give a flip about JM's well being.

 

His family background has a lot to do with that entitlement feeling.

From what I've read of the girlfriend, she's a hot, sloppy drunk mess. As much of a spoiled brat as Johnny is, he never struck me as a guy who would beat up his girlfriend. If anything he seems like the kind of guy who'd be quick to discard a girl if she was giving him problems.

But best case scenario here is that she's clearly been giving him problems and he isn't dumping her.

 

I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The girlfriend does seem to be a hot mess, but I'm very hesitant to say that where there's smoke, there's no fire. Way too many men have skated via the "well, SHE'S unstable!" or "he seems like such a nice guy!" mentality, and there have been too many incidents with Manziel and her for me to think that it's a coincidence or she's entirely in the wrong. otoh, I do think the homicidal and suicidal claims are probably exaggerations (though you never know).

  • Love 4

"If I can't have you, no one can" = homicidal.

"I can't live without you" = suicidal.   

Quite common phrases in domestic violence situations.

 

 

I doubt she used the words homicidal and suicidal.   The police  or the reporters used those words to convey what she actually said.   

 

"Oh there must be something wrong with her or else her story would make sense" is exactly why a lot of domestic violence victims don't report.   They are afraid no one will believe them.   After he's Jonny Manziel who's going to believe her?

 

ETA:   His agent has dumped him.   According to the statement released (I saw it on twitter with no link), he tried to get JM to straighten up and he refused.   PFT is also reporting that his parents have tried to get him into rehab again and he is refusing.   They even think his partying his out of control.   Yes 22 year olds party, but when it interferes with work it;s a problem just not being a young irresponsible kid.   Basically JM is turning more into Ryan Leaf than we thought he would.

Edited by merylinkid
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I wonder if many of the legal problems in the NFL could be avoided if the league refused to draft college players before they earn a diploma. Let 'em have time to mature and graduate, then give them the opportunity to earn an NFL salary.

 

Well, everyone grows up at a different rate, and I'm sure there's college players 20, 21, who are behaving like adults, although I doubt that is the norm. As much as I would encourage players to stay and earn a degree, some just can't.

 

What the problem is, college players should be treated like the semi professionals that they are being used as. They should be unionized imo. They should be getting money, whether it's just banked until they leave or a stipend. Coaches should use that money to fine them just like the pros. Let them major in what they want, but they should be taking electives in social media, managing money, staying away from bad influences, how to cut your mooching friends, etc.

 

A lot of these players aren't grow ups when they leave at 22, 23 and do need time to grow up, but, I've said this enough, they aren't getting the resources they need to succeed either. Colleges are making millions off their backs, and the NFL treats them as commodities. It's a minor miracle anyone turns out as a reasonably adjusted adult. 

  • Love 1

On a lighter note, Richard Sherman is promoting the 20th anniversary of Pokemon and he said he's been playing since he was a kid, for about 19 of the 20 years, so I looked it up. And he's been playing since he was 8.

I'm old. I'm a dinosaur. If I were a promiscuous teen, I could be his mother.

The first time I truly felt like an old fart was when Iggy Azalea's Fancy video came out and nobody in the under-25 crowd realized it was a take-off of the movie Clueless.

Regarding JM, he's even managing to out-Leaf Ryan Leaf. What a trainwreck.

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On a lighter note, Richard Sherman is promoting the 20th anniversary of Pokemon and he said he's been playing since he was a kid, for about 19 of the 20 years, so I looked it up. And he's been playing since he was 8.

 

 

Pokemon should arrange a game between him and Rhonda Rousey (who is also a big fan). That would be all kinds of fun!

 

I just heard that Dallas will not be signing Manziel and that the decision was made before the latest domestic violence incident. If the report is true, I believe we have seen the last of Johnny Football. (However Johnny Manziel may stay in the headlines for a long time.)

Edited by xaxat
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"If I can't have you, no one can" = homicidal.

"I can't live without you" = suicidal.   

Quite common phrases in domestic violence situations.

 

 

I doubt she used the words homicidal and suicidal.   The police  or the reporters used those words to convey what she actually said.   

 

"Oh there must be something wrong with her or else her story would make sense" is exactly why a lot of domestic violence victims don't report.   They are afraid no one will believe them.   After he's Jonny Manziel who's going to believe her?

 

ETA:   His agent has dumped him.   According to the statement released (I saw it on twitter with no link), he tried to get JM to straighten up and he refused.   PFT is also reporting that his parents have tried to get him into rehab again and he is refusing.   They even think his partying his out of control.   Yes 22 year olds party, but when it interferes with work it;s a problem just not being a young irresponsible kid.   Basically JM is turning more into Ryan Leaf than we thought he would.

 

 

 

 

Some of this stuff could be true AND there could be something wrong with her. The truth could be as another poster mentioned somewhere in between. The Browns reportedly wanted him to dump her before the October AVON police incident. Paul Krueger all but said that she is no good for him in the dash cam in October AVON incident. They were closer to him and his situation than most other people, so maybe they thought something was wrong/toxic with her. She was drunk then to the point to where they considered arresting her at the..  

 

Three different police departments let him go. I don't buy they all let him go because he's "Johnny Manziel." He hasn't done much while he's been in the league, he's been riding the bench for about a year and half. He hasn't been that accomplished in the NFL. I don't see him getting special privelges by all of these departments. I think that If they felt there was enough substantial evidence, they would have gotten him on SOMETHING/ANYTHING. 

 

IMO,He's not getting into trouble because there is something about Colleen that police find unbelievable/not credible. She's been uncooperative, inconsistent with the stuff she's says and at least the first time around she was pretty drunk. They are investigators they are supposed to do their job and there's something about her that isn't ringing true with police officers for whatever reasons. Quite honestly I think that has more to do with her than Johnny.

 

Johnny could be a terrible person who is guilty of the things she's accusing him of. Maybe he is evil.  Maybe he is seriously mentally ill. I don't know. But maybe something is seriously wrong with Colleen. Or maybe there is something seriously wrong with the both of them. 

 

Again it's an unpopular stance, but I'm trying to look at what has been presented from BOTH sides of this story. I think people may need to be cautious with automatically believing 100% of what Colleen says. It's such an extreme account and incredibly damning. Now it could be true. Or maybe at least some of it is not true. Johnny's livelihood is on the line here. Forget him playing in the NFL again, he may never have sports related job again. Or may a hard time work in general. Granted he's rich but still... Talking about young person's life potentially being destroyed here forever. The truth could very well be in between both of their stories.

Edited by lam48

Three different police departments let him go. I don't buy they all let him go because he's "Johnny Manziel." He hasn't done much while he's been in the league, he's been riding the bench for about a year and half. He hasn't been that accomplished in the NFL. I don't see him getting special privelges by all of these departments. I think that If they felt there was enough substantial evidence, they would have gotten him on SOMETHING/ANYTHING.

I don't disagree with your overall point, but I strongly disagree on this. Manziel might have proved jack shit on the football field, but as a celebrity? He's pretty much an A-lister at this point, even if for bad reasons. I'd wager that most people in the US, even if they don't care about football, have some sense of who he is. That is precisely the kind of athlete (or celebrity) who skates free of all charges. It has absolutely nothing to do with skills and all to do with celebrity and money.

Celebrities aren't the only people who get special treatment from the police. His family is very wealthy (oil money) and probably have a lot of influence in Texas and beyond. One phone call from a judge or some other higher up is all that's needed, so I dont think the police department not filing charges proves anything.

I think considering his father, once again is speaking out and practically begging for someone, anyone to help his son proves that *something* more than just an immature kid partying too hard is what's wrong. I'm not going to assume this girl is lying or exaggerating, nor am I going to assume Manziel is an abuser. I think everything is still very much on the table as to what the truth is.

I don't disagree with your overall point, but I strongly disagree on this. Manziel might have proved jack shit on the football field, but as a celebrity? He's pretty much an A-lister at this point, even if for bad reasons. I'd wager that most people in the US, even if they don't care about football, have some sense of who he is. That is precisely the kind of athlete (or celebrity) who skates free of all charges. It has absolutely nothing to do with skills and all to do with celebrity and money.

 

Other athletes who are more accomplished than Johnny have gotten arrested/had charges filed against. Some of them may not have they hype he's gotten, but nonetheless they get in trouble/arrested. Is he really that much more special/untouchable than the rest of them? I could see maybe one PD letting him skate, but THREE?

 

I really believe their perception of Colleen has something do with this. I've read the police reports from all three incidents, and some of the stuff she said said/ the way she behaved did not help her claims against Johnny. I believe at the very least she has trouble being found credible. It doesn't help that she behaves erratically, is inconsistent and was at least heavily drunk during one of the incidents.

If JM's not perceived as that big a deal, why did someone in TX send in a copter to pick him up aft the latest rift?

If she had told the Fort Worth Police Department what she told the Dallas police department, I could see maybe why they would use the copter to go after him. But it seems like she was pretty mum with the FWPD. Originally, before I heard many of the details, I thought that going after him with a helicopter was overboard. That whole party of the story is still kind of strange, to me. They said he was believed to be on foot but couldn't prove it. If he fled on foot, then his car would have been left in the parking lot.

 

How could they not at least determine if he left his car at her place or not. I wonder if they asked her if his car was in the parking lot or not and that was uncooperative about that. The report said she was pretty uncooperative, but maybe to the point to where she wouldn't identify whether his vehicle was at her place or not. 

 

I wonder if they searched the parking lot, to see if they could find his car. If they could have determined that he left his car at her place, that could have helped her story. Johnny is only going to get so far on foot, and he wouldn't he return to get his vehicle? Wouldn't she have been scared that he might return to get his vehicle, if he left it in the parking lot. Why didn't a cop stick around a bit to see if he returned to get his vehicle. Unless the vehicle wasn't there??? STRANGE.

 

I think considering his father, once again is speaking out and practically begging for someone, anyone to help his son proves that *something* more than just an immature kid partying too hard is what's wrong.... I think everything is still very much on the table as to what the truth is.

 

I think you make a very fair point.  I'm thinking the truth might be somewhere in the middle.

 

 

 

A judge signed the protective order keeping Manziel away from the girlfriend.  So somebody believed something happened.

 

Good. I wish he would/could get one against HER as well. SHE after all was the one who showed up at HIS Hotel room according to one of the reports. Plus, I have read an account that she has showed up to another place he was at, when he was with another girl and was asked to leave. SHE needs to stay away from him as well. It should go both ways. What happens if she decides she wants to talk to him and tries to get to him. I could definitely see that happening. They need to stay away from each other, and Johnny needs to understand that if he doesn't he really could end up in jail the next time around. 

.

Edited by lam48

A guy I knew in college played for the Colts in the mid 2000s. He was dating two girls at the same time, and wasn't upfront about it. Eventually the women found out about one another and one of them showed up at the Colts practice facility causing a huge scene. She ended up being hauled away by security. If JM hit his girlfriend he's dead wrong, but these women go postal over athletes. I'm not entirely convinced Colleen is innocent in all of this.

  • Love 1

Because a protective order is not about not having someone around.   It is to protect you from violence.   It's not a game.   It's not  "well she bothers him so its okay he HITS her."   She might be a hot mess but that not does not give him the right to be violent with her.  

No one is saying that. It's not okay for him to hit her/abuse her threaten her at ALL.  Though she may be lying about some things/guilty of some things as well. Her potentially being a hot mess could be why she's isn't being found that credible by police officers. And it could mean she's lying about at least some things.  And she admitted to hitting him several times in his car and approaching him with a knife. She also showed up to his hotel room. This was mentioned in the police reports.

 

Now maybe her her hitting him, going at him with a knife was in self-defense (that is the way she portrayed things). But maybe it wasn't. But it presents a problem either way you look at it. What if she had stabbed him to death? They BOTH need to stay away from each other. 

 

It looks like we may find out more about this story because she is now asking the DA to press charges against him. Maybe she will come across more credible should this case go to court.

Edited by lam48
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Huh, it's weird that with all those people talking to the trainer and the assistant coaches in college that no one in the Browns organization were able to figure out there was a lot of risk in picking this guy. And that he might not be able to deal with just being dumped into professional football. How could they have known though? I mean, he was always in the locker room working out and training, so I guess they all thought he was all right. I guess there was just no way of knowing. None of this could have been foreseen at all by anyone at anytime. There's just no way to have figured it out. It's like you would need someone or some people who could, like, analyze what people are thinking, and study their behavior, or something. I guess it's just a total roll of the dice. 

Edited by ganesh
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This article was written before he was drafted and before he met the girlfriend.   His own dad was tiptoeing around his anger to avoid violent outbursts.   Sorry it was obvious that Manziel had an anger management problem but everyone wrote it off as a kid under too much pressure, instead of seeing it for what it was.   When Manziel doesn't get his way, can't control things, he gets violent.   Football player, cop, car assembly line worker it's the same thing -- abuser.  Until he gets his life under control and works on his own issues, nothing is going to change.   He's going to wind up like Ryan Leaf (who at least was not an abuser) or Lawrence Phillips.

So, I was right. There's just no way anyone could have known about this. Everyone interested in drafting him in the first round invested enormous resources in vetting a potential multimillion dollar investment. I mean, there's no way anyone could have known about potential problems and just looked the other way and ignored the whole thing. Because, like, giving someone at risk like this millions of dollars would be enabling. I can't imagine an NFL team doing that. 

  • Love 1

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