Mike Pettine hadn’t seen the latest viral online video featuring Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel when he spoke to reporters Monday afternoon during a conference call, but the mere existence of the footage worries the coach.
A video showing Manziel rapping along to a hip-hop song while holding a beverage can surfaced on the Yeti Campus Stories app this past weekend and was transferred to Instagram. BustedCoverage.com later picked up the video, and its circulation became rampant.
In the video, it looks as if Manziel was holding a 23.5-ounce can of black cherry Four Loko, a malt beverage that contains 12 percent alcohol by volume. Manziel, 23, spent more than 10 weeks this past offseason in an inpatient rehabilitation facility specializing in alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
Another person in the video can definitely be seen holding a can of lemonade Four Loko and drinking from what appears to be a beer bottle.
“Anytime there’s something with our players that casts them potentially in a bad light whether it’s Johnny or any of our other guys, it’s certainly a concern,” Pettine said. “I’m sure I’ll see it. I’ll have a discussion with him about it.”
Pettine demoted Manziel from starter to third string on Nov. 24 after he partied during a bye-week break, then lied to the Browns about it.
The world became aware of Manziel’s revelry during that brief vacation because a video surfaced online showing him holding a large bottle while singing and dancing in an Austin, Texas, nightclub. Manziel spent two games on the bench before being re-inserted into the starting lineup.
It’s no secret Manziel has consumed alcohol since leaving rehab. After all, he told Avon police he had been drinking during the day before an in-car fight with girlfriend Colleen Crowley on Oct. 12.
In the latest video, Manziel appears to be in a house, perhaps his home in suburban Cleveland, as opposed to a bar. A framed jersey of wide receiver Mike Evans, Manziel’s close friend and teammate at Texas A&M University, can be seen on the wall in the background.
“These circumstances are different from the incident that occurred before,” Pettine said.
Too public for Pettine
Pettine was asked about Manziel, the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft, being public about his drinking.
“It falls back into not micromanaging personal lives, and it’s very public unfortunately,” Pettine replied. “The thing that’s disappointing is how public it becomes, and it’s something with all of our players we’re going to sit down with them before they get out of here and talk about where they are personally, where they are professionally. And certainly Johnny will be no exception.”
Asked whether the most recent video could prompt him to bench Manziel again, Pettine said, “I don’t have all the information on it, and I’m just not going to comment on it at this time ’cause I don’t have all the facts with it.”
The Browns (3-12) will finish their season Sunday at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6).
After Pettine announced on Dec. 8 he would give Manziel a chance to be the starter for the final four games of the season, he made it clear the former Heisman Trophy winner would be on thin ice.
“You look at the degree of an incident, so it would be hard for me to sit here and say, ‘We have a zero-tolerance policy,’ ” Pettine said at the time. “But if something were to occur, I could imagine that the repercussions would be harsh.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.