There is no easy way to tell someone the way they are living is wrong, but this is one of the times it needs to be done.
Johnny, your life is out of control, and it's time to pull it together.
I'll admit, from the jump, I wasn't your biggest fan, but over time the effort you gave on the field eventually outweighed the antics off it. The partying was OK because you were "Johnny Football." Well, now, those times are long gone, and it's time to start looking at life from a different perspective. I can now say I no longer cheer for you as an athlete. I now only cheer for you as a man who has dug himself a very big hole and can't seem to find a way out. Johnny, in order to fix the problem, you have to see the problem first.
Though this may not be the best time to write an article in the midst of all of these allegations and act like someone who has done so much wrong is the victim, I am going to. I am in no way saying hitting women, showing up drunk to work and driving under the influence is OK. The point I'm trying to make is we are all human, and we all have this thing called human error. Over time, our society has labeled these people as "super" humans and led us to believe when they do wrong, we should then go ahead and treat them as if they murdered an entire city and are running from the law. That should not be the case with Manziel or any other athlete. Do I believe he should lose his job next season and face punishment like any other person? Absolutely. I think a year off from the NFL is the only way he will bring his life back to where it needs to be, and getting a smack on the wrist from the justice system makes up for all of the things Texas A&M just allowed to happen. Now, do I think that he should be imprisoned for 20 years? Clearly not, and that's what bothers me more and more about how they are portraying what is going on. Johnny Manziel is not a "super" human.
See, I had the chance to meet Johnny Manziel last summer at Joe Haden's Second Annual Celebrity Softball game in Cleveland. After making my way around the star studded crowd and talking to Richard Sherman, Deion Sanders and others, it became much easier for me to make my way over to Manziel and strike up a conversation. He had such a relaxed personality that telling him how happy I was for him for going to rehab over the summer was easy to do. After finishing off a very surprisingly causal conversation with one of the most popular sports figures in the world, I made my way over to Larry Fitzgerald to discuss his college years with my cousin.
After introductions were over and the athletes were already deep into their entertainment acts for the crowd, the home run derby was announced. Several athletes took their turns stepping up to the plate and most letting the crowd down miserably, but then the crowd quieted down, and you knew something was about to happen. The host with the microphone lowered his voice and in the most dramatic way said, "Cleveland, are you ready? Next up, Johnny Manziel!" and in that moment, a small attendance sounded like the entire city of Cleveland as they showed love for someone who hadn't yet won them a thing. I mean, you would of thought Joe Montana had taken the field just months after winning the city a Super Bowl. As beautiful as it was to see how the "Pound" embraced a College Station kid, you knew this was not the kind of worship someone needs only months removed from rehab. Attention like this was almost like saying, "It's OK, we forgive you. Do and say whatever you want as long as you are going to win us games." People, once again, forgot Johnny Manziel is human.
As the game came to an end and all of the fans had left the stadium, I hung out by the back gate and said goodbye to all of the "super" humans as they made their way out. Toward the back came Manziel with his backpack, Jordan flip flops and his beautiful blonde girlfriend by his side as if he had just finished his final high school baseball game. As I walked toward Johnny and said my goodbye, he embraced me with a handshake and looked right at me and said, "Good luck." If I told you I wasn't smiling and ready to accomplish all my goals in one night, even after my four-hour drive back to Cincinnati, I would be lying. Just to have someone of that meaning to so many people wish you luck truly made the difference and pushed me to work so much harder. In that moment, football went right out the window, and I finally rooted for Johnny Manziel the way people should be, as a human.
No matter the channel I watch or website I click on, all I see is how so many people are ready to tell you what you have done wrong and cast stones rather than help pave a pathway for your hope. Even your own father has made the news saying he doesn't think you will see your 24th birthday. I just want to know why these people are quick to pull the trigger on disgracing you in the public eye rather than do everything they possibly can to push you right up to the clinic doors? It's said that all contact with you has been lost, but only hours after the Super Bowl, you responded back to Von Miller on social media. Why are we talking on shows and giving the newspapers a story to bank off of when we should be pushing you a third, fourth, fifth, sixth and even seventh time if it takes that to get you in those rehab doors? I, like many others, just want you to find help Johnny. At only 23 years old, being pushed into a "super" human was the worse thing that could of happened to you. So let's put Drake, LeBron and all of the other famous celebrities out there who said they "supported" you on hold and start focusing on who really matters right now: yourself and the people who truly do love you. Johnny, I think even you, at times, have forgotten you are not a "super" human.
So, with that being said, the odds of you actually reading this are worse than winning the lottery, but the fact there is a chance is enough for me to write it. To those who think this can only be said for Johnny and other athletes, think again. Even though we won't find your mistakes all over the news, that doesn't give you the right to allow them to happen. The things Manziel has done are very wrong, and I think he is finally starting to realize that. With success comes distraction, and in life, you have to learn success also brings people around who are only there because of that. The people who truly love you are the ones who were right by your side when you couldn't even figure out where to begin. Johnny, it's time to seek help and go back to the people who once loved you before your last named changed to the sport you played. You are human, and I think you know that now.
Just as you told me, I now say to you, "Good luck."
