Report: Browns feel latest Johnny Manziel incident is a ‘non-issue’

Johnny Manziel made headlines over the weekend when he was involved in another incident with an overzealous fan, but the Cleveland Browns are reportedly not concerned about it.

A Browns source told ESPN.com that the team considers Manziel’s run-in with a fan at the Byron Nelson Classic to be a “non-issue.” Police said the 18-year-old who briefly got into it with Manziel was harassing the former Heisman Trophy winner, so the Browns feel that Manziel should not be held responsible.

In a certain sense, I disagree. I don’t doubt that Manziel was minding his own business when the fan started heckling him. But given everything that has transpired since Manziel was drafted, shouldn’t he know how to handle situations like that by now?

Manziel reportedly threw a water bottle at the fan. A friend who was with Manziel at the time described the incident to ESPN:

As Manziel left the golf course, the fan yelled, “good luck never starting in the NFL,” the friend said. Manziel said “What?” and threw the bottle, which the friend claimed was empty, toward the ground as his friends told him to ignore the heckler.

The fan was about 20 yards away and Manziel threw the bottle in the fan’s direction but not close to his body and more like a football spike, said the friend, who remembered the fan yelling, “Good throw, Johnny.”

For what it’s worth, a witness said Manziel threw a 32-ounce water bottle that was three-quarters full.

Unless there is some sort of crucial detail we are missing, it sounds like Manziel would have been better off completely ignoring the guy and walking away. Manziel’s friend says the harasser asked for a photo about 10 times and even grabbed Manziel at one point. But if Manziel “threw” a water bottle at the 18-year-old, that implies there was distance between the two at some point.

The bottom line is Manziel seems to be working hard to repair his image, and that’s one of the reasons he moved out of his downtown Cleveland apartment. If he can’t manage to avoid confrontations like the one at the Byron Nelson or this incident from last year, perhaps Johnny Football needs to treat himself like more of a celebrity and not be seen at public events as often.