Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is like many who care about Johnny Manziel, the person — he’s upset.
Ian Rapoport says the owner “appeared frustrated, emotional” about Manziel, who has not responded to the “several” attempts at communication:
Jimmy Haslam tells us he has tried to reach out to Johnny Manziel several times and got no response. He appeared frustrated, emotional.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2016
It’s certainly a slap in the face by Manziel to Haslam, who recently gave his support to the embattled quarterback. Just days before Manziel got into an altercation with his ex-girlfriend Coleen Crowley, Haslam said there was “no question” that the two sides could still repair the relationship.
Not so much any more. In what almost seems like a direct response to the show of support, Manziel completely sabotaged any remaining scrap of trust by getting into a situation so out of control that the cops tracked him with a helicopter. Furthermore, Crowley alleged Manziel hit her multiple times, slammed her into a car window and threatened both their lives.
His father thinks he might not live to see his next birthday, and Brandon Marshall of the New York Jets has suggested Manziel needs to get away from football completely to salvage his life.
Haslam took a gamble on Manziel to begin with, selecting him in the first round, even though the quarterback did have red flags to begin with. He’s stuck with the quarterback throughout all his off-field issues, only to be proven wrong time and time again. By all accounts, the Browns are finished with Manziel after this latest incident.
At this point, though, it seems Haslam and others are correctly keying in on issues much bigger than football.