The father of soon-to-be former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel fears his son won’t live to see his 24th birthday on Dec. 6 if he doesn’t get the help he needs.
Manziel has twice declined to be admitted to rehabilitation facilities in Texas during the past week, and his family is concerned for his well-being, his dad, Paul Manziel, told the Dallas Morning News in a story published Friday morning.
“I truly believe if they can’t get him help, he won’t live to see his 24th birthday,” Paul Manziel said.
The family’s first attempt to check Manziel into rehab occurred Saturday afternoon after ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley accused the former Heisman Trophy winner of beating her and threatening to end both of their lives early that morning in Dallas. Crowley also told Fort Worth police she was concerned for Manziel’s well-being, prompting them to search for him with a helicopter after he fled her apartment complex on foot.
Later Saturday, Manziel would not stay at the Enterhealth Ranch drug and alcohol addiction treatment center in Van Alstyne, according to the newspaper’s report.
Paul Manziel said he also tried to have his son admitted Tuesday to Carrollton Springs psychiatric and chemical dependency hospital in Carrollton, but the younger Manziel was allowed to leave.
Paul Manziel told the Dallas Morning News he’s upset his son was allowed to walk away from the facility because the elder Manziel had told a Denton County Sheriff officer that he believed his son to be suicidal.
Paul Manziel did not immediately return a phone message from the Beacon Journal.
His son, who was spotted out in public at Wednesday night’s Dallas Mavericks game, hasn’t accepted the Browns’ recent attempts to help him, either.
On Friday, owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters at Super Bowl festivities in San Francisco the Browns have reached out to Manziel several times since the incident came to light Saturday, but they haven’t received a response.
“Johnny has not responded to us, but we’ll do anything we can to help him personally, and our thoughts and prayers are with Johnny and his family,” Haslam said on NFL Network. “We’re not worried about Johnny Manziel the football player. We’re worried about Johnny Manziel the person.”
In addition to Paul Manziel and Haslam, NFL agent Erik Burkhardt expressed concern for the troubled player while announcing Friday he has ended their business relationship.
“It is with deep regret that, after several emotional and very personal discussions with his family, his doctors, and my client himself, I have made the decision to terminate my professional relationship with Johnny Manziel,” Burkhardt said in a statement. “Though I will remain a friend and Johnny supporter, and he knows I have worked tirelessly to arrange a number of professional options for him to continue to pursue, it has become painfully obvious that his future rests solely in his own hands.
“His family and I have gone to great lengths to outline the steps we feel he must take to get his life in order. Accountability is the foundation of any relationship, and without it the function of my work is counterproductive. I truly wish the best for Johnny and sincerely hope he can, and will, find the kind of peace and happiness he deserves.”
Burkhardt isn’t the first to dump Manziel, the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 draft, and he won’t be the last.
LeBron James’ LRMR marketing agency severed ties with Manziel last month.
And the Browns plan to cut him March 9, when a new league year will give them the salary-cap space needed to make the move.
It remains to be seen whether another team will ever take a chance on Manziel, who hasn’t halted his hard partying despite spending more than 10 weeks last year in rehab.
The Dallas Cowboys would be a logical suitor because of owner Jerry Jones’ well-documented obsession with Manziel. However, an unnamed high-ranking Cowboys source told Dallas TV station WFAA the team isn’t interested in signing Manziel as a free agent after the latest assault allegations from Crowley surfaced Thursday night.
Manziel has denied those allegations. “It didn’t happen,” he told TMZ.com Thursday.
Fort Worth and Dallas police have not charged Manziel and consider their investigations closed. Fort Worth police determined no criminal offense occurred in their jurisdiction. Efforts made by Dallas police to contact Crowley resulted in no filing of a criminal complaint.
The NFL is investigating the incident under its personal conduct policy and could discipline Manziel, even though he hasn’t been charged.
Instead of giving specifics about Manziel’s situation when asked about it Friday during a news conference in San Francisco, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pointed out the personal conduct policy is designed not only to discipline players, but to help them.
“Our personal conduct policy is to try to prevent these incidents from happening,” Goodell said. “... Every player, every coach, every executive, everyone in the league office has gone through extensive education to understand the issues, to understand what to look for, including bystander awareness, so that you can prevent these issues from happening, and that’s what we all want to see. We have other services, including counseling and other matters that are available to players if they’re struggling with any given issue, and this happens.”
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.