How Johnny Manziel raised his hand and volunteered to go to rehab
By Mary Kay Cabot, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on February 02, 2015 at 10:03 PM, updated February 03, 2015 at 8:16 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel finally raised his hand last week and admitted to his family and to the Browns that he needed help, that it was time to go to inpatient rehab for his possible dependence on alcohol.
On Tuesday, he flew out of Cleveland and informed those close to him of his intentions. On Wednesday, Manziel checked himself into an undisclosed facility somewhere within driving distance of Cleveland, a place that the Browns knew about and felt comfortable with.
According to multiple sources, those close to Manziel were proud of him for taking such a big and difficult step. Not many 22-year-olds volunteer for inpatient rehab, but Manziel was ready, which is why his friends and family members are optimistic that he'll take it seriously and do the work needed to get well.
Experts in the field say that rehab might not stick, especially for a young adult, if they're not willing to go on their own.
Manziel's close and friend and quarterback guru George Whitfield, the Massillon native who's worked closely with Manziel for the past three years, expressed in a tweet that it was the right move, and he knows Manziel's situation as well as anyone.
"Best possible thing for Johnny Manziel. Take your time ... Praying for you, cousin,'' Whitfield tweeted.
The news was released by Manziel's camp and later by the Browns.
"Brad Beckworth, a friend and advisor to Manziel and his family, has confirmed that Johnny entered treatment on Wednesday," the statement read. "Johnny knows there are areas in which he needs to improve in order to be a better family member, friend and teammate and he thought the off-season was the right time to take this step. On behalf of Johnny and his family, we're asking for privacy until he rejoins the team in Cleveland."
The Browns, in a statement from general manager Ray Farmer, corroborated that Manziel stepped forward to ask for help.
"We respect Johnny's initiative in this decision and will fully support him throughout this process," the statement read. "Our players' health and well-being will always be of the utmost importance to the Cleveland Browns.
"We continually strive to create a supportive environment and provide the appropriate resources, with our foremost focus being on the individual and not just the football player. Johnny's privacy will be respected by us during this very important period and we hope that others will do the same.''
For their part, the Browns had already made it clear to Manziel what they expected from him this offseason, and the discussion didn't include being photographed living it up with oft-suspended receiver Josh Gordon in Aspen, Colo. a few weeks ago.
"Johnny has to show on and off the field he can be a professional,'' owner Jimmy Haslam said at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards Jan. 22. ". ...He knows what we expect of him on and off the field and it's up to him to prove he can do that.''
Generally, inpatient treatment begins with a 28-30 day program, but it's individualized and can last two or three times that long depending on the nature of the addiction or other issues being addressed. Some patients are treated for a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and psychological issues, which normally requires a longer stay.
As for whether or not Manziel lands in the NFL's substance abuse program, it's up to the medical professionals in charge, and it's confidential, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aielllo.
Manziel's decision, which comes a month after he admitted in his postseason interview that he'd have "to make some deals'' with himself, follows five or six years of alcohol-related incidents and a few run-ins with the law that have had those close to him concerned about his well-being for some time.
In a New York Times article in 2012, Manziel's father, Paul, revealed that he made a deal with Manziel when he was in high school: he'd buy him a new car if he abstained from alcohol during his junior and senior years. But one summer night, a store security guard smelled alcohol on Manziel's breath and called the police. Manziel was taken to jail, and his father picked him up the next day.
Paul made Manziel pay the fine, and told the judge to double Manziel's community service from 10 hours to 20. He also replaced the new car with an old pickup truck that often broke down on the way to school.
When Manziel was at Texas A&M, his parents went back to the car well again, buying him a shiny, red Camaro if he promised to be a model citizen, according to the New York Times article.
"We have to keep him focused; Johnny needs incentives," Michelle Manziel said. Paul added, "Johnny needs structure all the time, because down time for Johnny is the worst time."
But Manziel had another brush with the law when he was arrested at Texas A&M in the summer of 2012 for a bar fight during which he came to the defense of a friend. Manziel, who was too intoxicated to answer questions according to the police report, spent the night in jail and ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He was also ordered by first-year Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin to undergo random drug testing and drug and alcohol counseling.
Manziel met with the counselor about six or seven times, according an ESPN the Magazine article last summer by Wright Thompson. At the NFL Combine last February, Manziel was asked about those sessions.
"I was more than willing to learn whatever I could from him and sit down and have meetings with him,'' he said. "Those continued throughout the next couple years. Had a great relationship with him. It was really nothing more than that.''
Paul, who along with his wife have declined to talk to the media since Manziel turned pro, also vowed back then to do whatever he could to help keep Manziel in line.
"I'm going to hold him accountable; I'm going to make a man out of him," Paul told the NY Times. "He wasn't going to get (to the NFL) the way he was walking."
Manziel's dad also alluded to the Heisman Trophy winner's temper and surmised it might contribute to the drinking.
"I don't know where the anger comes from," Paul told ESPN the Magazine. "I don't think he knows. If it comes from his drinking, or if he's mad at himself for not being a better person when he fails, when he fails God and his mom and me. If it makes him angry that he's got demons in him. You can only speculate because you can't go in there."
In the summer of 2013, Manziel was sent home from the Manning Quarterback camp by patriarch Archie Manning after he stayed out afterhours and showed up late on a Saturday -- another red flag.
But while preparing for the NFL draft, Manziel was on his best behavior, in part because he was out in San Diego working tirelessly with Whitfield and Browns new quarterbacks coach Kevin O'Connell on his mechanics and measurables. Nine hours a day, five days a week, with no time for late nights.
O'Connell accompanied Manziel on trips and helped him stay focused. He also kept him in the film room studying the pro game.
Manziel's team of handlers wisely kept him away from the Super Bowl last year and out of the limelight in the months leading up to the draft. He said all the right things in lengthy in pre-draft interviews with the Houston Chronicle and Ft. Worth-Star Telegram about how he'd grown up and abandoned the frat-boy lifestyle.
The Browns, who did their due diligence on Manziel, were satisfied that he was worth moving up from No. 26 to No. 22 to draft, surrendering a third-round pick to the Eagles in the process.
But the moment he was drafted, the dam broke and he reverted back to Johnny Football, party animal. The night of the draft, he was photographed swigging from a magnum of champagne, and the party was on. From there, he caroused from coast-to-coast with no regard for the negative attention it brought the Browns.
At the NFL rookie symposium in Los Angeles in May, just weeks after the draft, Manziel crawled under a skirted table and took a nap during an autograph session with potential sponsors -- after a night out with rapper Drake and friends. Fellow rookies jokingly tried to interview him under the table with a fake microphone.
From there, the progressive party traveled to Las Vegas, Austin, Tex. and back to Los Angeles. It included the infamous float on the inflatable swan, makin' it rain in the club, shouting an f-bomb into his money phone with bleary eyes, a visit to the Biebs' house with Floyd Mayweather and friends, and more.
But the photo the Browns found most alarming, a source told Northeast Ohio Media Group, was the one in which he was rolling up a bill in the bathroom of a bar on July 7th. That set the alarm bells off in Berea, and the Browns feared their first-round quarterback might need some intervention.
They jumped on it right away, but Manziel never felt he was doing anything wrong. In fact, he insisted he was going to live life the way he wanted -- while all the while dedicating himself to the game.
As the season wore on, Manziel was involved in another late-night fight when a fan tried to hug him at his downtown apartment building. No charges were filed, but Manziel was reprimanded by the Browns for being out at 2:38 in the morning, just hours before the team was to board their flight for Atlanta.
In the midst of all this, Manziel was thrown into the fire for two starts, and flopped miserably. Although teammates such as Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner said Manziel gave them great looks as the scout team quarterback, the pro game proved to be too much for him last season, and he looked woeful en route to his 0-2 mark.
Manziel, placed on injured reserve for the season finale, hit a new low when he overslept for his hamstring treatment the day before the game, and was fined.
Browns security went to his apartment, where they found him asleep. Manziel admitted he partied too hard the night before.
The day after the finale, Manziel admitted that he often struggles to do the right thing.
"There's nothing I can sit here and tell you (that will make this go away),'' he said. "I can't sit here and talk to these mics or these cameras or anything that's going to do any good. It's about actions, it's about being accountable and doing what I'm going to say instead of looking like a jackass."
He acknowledged, "I brought this on myself ....So I'm sorry to these guys that are veterans in this locker room and know what it takes, that I'm having to learn the hard way. At the same time, I'm either going to learn or I'm going to be finding something else to do."
Manziel, who had vowed just days earlier to dedicate himself to the game and swore he had grown up, asked the Browns not to lose faith in him.
"There have been some good things and bad things,'' he said. "I know what is important to me and now it is time to come in here, look at myself in the mirror and hold myself accountable and start making some deals with myself.
"I need to start doing every single thing and everything the right way and if I don't I'm going to be exposed....I'm upset with how I have handled things at times. I did grow up and then I took a step back. It is the same story with me. We're taking one step forward and then two steps back.''
He added, "Now it is really in my court. What do I want to do and what do I want to be known as? Do I want to be known as a guy who has been in this league two years and now doing something different with his life or come in here and compete, give this thing a fair chance and work my ass off to be the quarterback and person I know I am?''
The battle in his brain continued as he left the interview and headed straight to Miami's South Beach, playground for the young and rich. From there, he partied in Houston and in Aspen, Colo. with Gordon, who was recently suspended indefinitely for violating the substance abuse policy again and had been suspended for the final game of the season after spending time out with Manziel and missing the walk-through.
But something finally kicked in last week, and Manziel realized it was time to deflate the swan, put the cork back in the bottle, hang up on the money phone and try to become the quarterback the Browns drafted, and the fine young man that Paul and Michelle raised him to be.
