Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel said his most recent screwup had nothing to do with throwing a party, but he offered no excuses for letting his team down.
On Saturday, Manziel was fined by the Browns for showing up late to receive treatment on his injured hamstring. A report later claimed that Manziel had thrown a party on Friday night and Browns security officials had to go looking for him on Saturday morning. Several of Manziel’s teammates reportedly attended the bash, and it may have been the reason some of them were late for a walkthrough.
On Monday, Manziel said the party rumors are “100 percent false” but admitted — once again — that he messed up.
“It’s about action,” Manziel told ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. “It’s about being accountable and doing what I’m gonna say instead of looking like a jackass.”
Manziel said he needs to be more accountable and insisted he was “extremely upset” about what happened. He added that he was not with Josh Gordon, who was suspended for the final game of the season for violating team rules, on Friday night.
Whether Manziel threw a party or not really isn’t relevant. He admitted he went out with friends Friday night, and then he dropped the ball on showing up to work.
“It sucks because of the perception I’ve based around myself — I’ve done this to myself — that that was allowed to be reported and people are just allowed to nod their head and act like that went on,” Manziel added. “Either I’m going to learn or I’m going to be finding something else to do.”
Manziel’s comments on Monday sounded awfully similar to the ones he made about a week ago. He’s right — it’s all about action now. He can say whatever he wants, but no one is going to believe it. And if Manziel doesn’t start acting responsibly, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has already made it quite clear what will happen.
