The one teammate I wanted to see in the documentary was Josh Gordon. I know those two were self-destructive and fed off each other, but I believe they were tight.
When he did a stint in the CFL he signed with the Hamilton Tigercats (my hometown) and we met a linebacker at a bar and he was pretty drunk so he spilled a lot more than he probably should have, but he told us the entire locker room hated the guy and nobody took him seriously because he didn’t respect the league, and only seemed to care about himself. Sad story :(
Great point about Johnny not having the chance to take time off. Sorry to hear about your mental health struggles. I’ve been in the same boat and just starting to get my life back together, but it took around 14 months away from work to go all out in therapy, reading, journaling, meditation, life planning, after years of being fully focused on being successful in my career. It’s unfortunate that our culture looks down on taking time away for ourselves, but it’s extremely important to do to avoid burnout. Glad you’re bringing awareness to this
The best way out of your problems is not to get into them in the first place. Its a shame that he had few if any people around him to keep him grounded and on the right path.
@@BamBamSam12nobody is perfect, but a lot of people don’t realize how many problems they could fix if they commit fully. Bad habits CAN be broken through mental strength. Future mistakes CAN be prevented through discipline. It just depends how much you truly care about yourself and how far you are willing to go to be better than you were yesterday.
A big problem was that he saw huge success being this party magnet throughout highschool and college and so he thought it was sustainable. It feeds the addictions too, when you always perform well after partying the night before you start to think it's causation. If you try to stop the bad habits your performance dips with the withdrawals & confirms in your mind that you're better with it than without it. It's nasty stuff honestly and in a position where reaching out for help would have been incredibly difficult even if he realized he had a problem He really is relatable to a younger version of myself as well and I thought it was insightful how you related to him. I think that's why alot of people are drawn to the story is because there's something profoundly human in it
This is a hot take, and I get if people have a problem with it, but I doubt there was much authentic remorse in that documentary. They literally only interviewed people within Johnny’s own circle. No teammates from A&M, nobody with the Browns organization. This was an attempt by Johnny to shape the narrative and create this sympathetic view of himself so he can capitalize off of it. If there’s one thing the documentary depicted without a doubt was his willingness to lie and what extents his willing to go to lie in order to control the narrative. What’s to say the entire documentary isnt exactly that?
It’s tempting to believe that if something around him had been different it would have changed the outcome. Anyone who has struggled with addiction knows better. It runs its own course regardless of what you or anyone else tries to do. Johnny’s only hope at this point is some kind of Pete Maravich-style spiritual awakening.
every time i see him on a youtube clip being interviewed now, there's almost always people in the comment section saying "i'm so happy that he's better, grown up, etc.". the guy is obviously still a disaster and he think he's fooling people. i don't get it
yea he just opened a bar in his college town called Manziels money bar. he said it was a "shot bar" on the pat macafee show. he's a legit alcoholic unfortunately
I have empathy for these young people that end up in high pressure situations. Being Johnny Football the expectarions are high. Hisnname was everywhere. Lots of people making a lot of money on his performances. We as a society are conditioned to be judgememtal on how a 20 year old handles that pressure. He needed guidance from his parents and coaches who saw this destructive behavior. I suspect instead he got enablers who got him patched together enough to play the next game.
I remember the rolled up bill being a big story and Browns fans completely downplaying it. They said, oh he's in his 20s blah blah blah. As a Raiders fan when the red flags are that glaring and continues (we experienced with JaWalrus Russel) you gotta be concerned and figure something out asap.
I think Johnny the human being likely wouldve ignored anyone asking about his mental state. He was top of the world and super young. There's no talking draft-prospect Johnny out of that lifestyle.
If you want to understand Johnny's behavior, or anyone's behavior for that matter, I strongly suggest watching any interview with Dr. Gabor Mate. He lays out the fundamental childhood causes that create our (often hidden from ourselves) insecurities.
Johnny Manziel fan, but he seems ok with how it played out and not super remorseful. Not sure he’s do things differently, but glad he’s out of his dark place.
His highs came fast, and he lacked the maturity to handle a good opportunity. That combined with vices. Perhaps hes matured now, but his previously untapped potential has faded away.
It’s the Jamarcus Russell situation, to name one person at the same position. It’s unfortunate that players have these crippling addictions they have to hide because any admittance will be seen so, incredibly negatively that it will impact their entire life. The reality is the media, the coaches, players, etc. should be 100% in support of players coming out with their struggles and seeing it as a sign of strength, not weakness. The continued, “normie” mentality the NFL (and sports world at large) has about mental health and addiction issues is frankly, old hat and regressive in all aspects of the sport.
Stop making excuses. OF COURSE they have to hide their addictions. They are paid MILLIONS of dollars to have enough discipline to not use substances! Stop coddling grown men!
Bro was celebrity status with drake, justin bieber, Mayweather, at age 20!! Barely finishing his second year of college. Small city boy, given that much stardom, cmon now. He most definitely wasnt use to it. Just wanted to be a normal college guy who can hang out with friends, drink a boozer, and play ball. But being super good, he got the attention he never asked for, and scrutiny from the press
Playing college sports requires DEDICATION, responsibility and maturity. He knew that. Him being college aged means what?? He's still an ADULT. As soon as he started hanging out with celebs it went straight to his head and he became "Mr tough guy" and even more arrogant . It was cringey to watch.
The doc was eye opening. Never realized what a obnoxious jerk he was until now. When he started hanging out with celebs he all of a sudden was "Mr Cool". You sawit in his demeanor on the field. He became more combative and argumentative. So cringey!!
Classic liar and con artist. I think he thinks the only way to rescue his image now is to go full on Jamarcus Russell bad- like “I didn’t watch any tape at all” bad. We’ve heard that crap before man. It’s the sign of a truly fragile disingenuous person- they can’t take even being average bad- they have to be mega bad. The most true way to describe Johnny is that he was boring, typical, average bad. … and to describe him that way would drive him nuts.
Agree he’s a classic con man, I think the not watching tape thing is true, I feel he conned his way to a first round pick, got paid and quit trying because he wanted the money
There's nothing going on in that clip other than Manziel admitting that he bit off more than he could chew -- i.e. he partied and was admitting it while trying desperately to maintain a first round selection. Yet here we have clowns who continue to try to make something else out of the obvious. I wonder if community college journalism programs teach low brow techniques to attract the viewer. Mid-level IQ journalism students know nothing about human behavior; nor do their instructors.
Johnny is autistic for one. Vanity fair mentions his folks talking about him self harming. You can see the scars on his forehead from smashing it off walls. He’s got a lot going on. This documentary was shallow. I hope someday he realizes he’s different and gets help. I’m autistic so I can identify. Johnny lost interest in playing. Once you lose interest it’s game over for us.
The same thing. Addicts take their problems wherever they go. Don't blame external factors. HE didn't want to stop partying, drinking and using substances.
