Only days after receiving criticism for missing a walk-through and treatment session on Saturday because he stayed out late the night before partying with friends, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel partied it up in Miami, Florida.
Last week Manziel was missing as the team began its Saturday morning session. After sending the team’s security officers to track him down, the Browns carted off Manziel in a team limo to the team’s facilities.
The young player later apologized to the team, the coach, and the fans for his lack of professionalism, and once again promised to buckle down and get serious about his game.
But Browns coach Mike Pettine, not so easily assuaged, pointed out that “at some point the talk is cheap.”
As the incident spread through the news many voices began to call for the Cleveland Browns to cut the rookie player.
Yet only days after this controversial incident, Manziel was seen once again partying hard, this time at the FDR Lounge at the Delano in Miami. Photos taken on December 31 show the young player drinking straight out of a champagne bottle with a group of friends. He’s 22, and on New Year’s Eve, that’s what many do. But the proximity of the champagne swig with the missed walk-through leaves many wondering if Manziel understands the message.
After the earlier incident, sports columnist Skip Bayless said on ESPN that he felt that Manziel is an alcoholic. During a broadcast on December 29, Bayless said that Manziel was an “alcoholic liar that needs help.” The columnist went on to confirm that he seriously thinks that Manziel is an alcoholic. “I think he can’t handle his alcohol,” Bayless said on Monday on ESPN.
Manziel has been criticized for months, now, for failing to live up to expectations. He was criticized in July for failing to learn the team’s playbook and has since promised to get more serious.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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