Editor’s note: this Johnny Manziel feature article is by guest contributor Crissy Froyd
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel was recently indicted on Class A misdemeanor charges. Ever since he began his NFL career, Manziel has been a victim of the media sensationalism, as all of mistakes have been magnified. If many of us were put to the same scrutiny that Manziel experiences, we might likely find ourselves in similar situations.
Countless athletes are just as “bad” as, or perhaps even “worse” than Manziel, but they simply do not find themselves brought forth into the limelight by the media. Therefore, their lifestyles are never exposed and criticized like Manziel’s is.
The media also doesn’t consistently call all that much attention to all of the great things that Manziel has done.
When Manziel raised tens of thousands of dollars for scholarships, and made a 6 year old cancer patient’s day, there was some coverage. However, the attention these stories received does not even begin to compare to the media frenzy that occurs whenever Manziel does something as simple as going out to a bar.
Unfortunately, this is just the unchanging nature of the media. In today’s world, there is far more of a market for stories of a scandalous nature than charitable acts of philanthropy. Johnny Manziel is more of a sympathetic character than you think. He was mistreated in Cleveland.
Head coach Mike Pettine denied Manziel a fair shot from the start, and he seemed to have a peculiar personal issue with him despite no clear reason.
It wasn’t just Browns fans that wanted Manziel in the game. A host of players told TMZ that they badly wanted Manziel to play back in September of last year, but Pettine simply wouldn’t have it.
Johnny Manziel is currently accused of physically assaulting his girlfriend of two years, Colleen Crowley.
She claims that she was kidnapped, hit, and threatened to be killed by Manziel upon leaving the Hotel Zaza. Not the slightest bit of physical evidence has been provided to back this claim publicly. At this point, the case against Manziel is mostly based on Crowley’s statements; which are questionable.
Back in October of 2015, the ex-girlfriend lied about Manziel “hitting her head against the window.”
The only injuries sustained by Crowley were some minor marks on wrists from Manziel attempting to prevent her from trying to jump from the vehicle during an argument.
This was corroborated by witnesses of the incident.
In Crowley’s written statement about the Dallas incident, she made the exact same claim that she had made in October in Cleveland. She stated “he hit my head against the window, and he wouldn’t give me my phone.” The NFL thoroughly investigated this incident and never found cause to suspend Manziel.
This was due to the fact that there was hardly any evidence to back Crowley’s accusations.
Manziel’s current case bears an uncanny resemblance to the first, and an equally small amount of evidence. Manziel’s legal team is confident that the defense does not have a strong enough case to bring a conviction.
Johnny Manziel is fully expected to be acquitted of all charges when he appears in court next week.
Crissy Froyd is a current student residing in Spring,Texas. She currently covers sports for her local high school’s website, and frequently writes on issues regarding the Tennessee Titans. Crissy intends to transfer to LSU to major in mass communications, and pursue a career in sportscasting.