Written by Jaclyn Hendricks at the NYPost.com
Johnny Manziel’s tangled web of troubles only gets worse by the day.
The Browns quarterback reportedly showed up to practice inebriated on Dec. 30, just days before the regular-season finale against the Steelers, leading the organization to announce their starter was being treated for a concussion to cover up the incident.
“I was with a Browns player yesterday. Johnny Manziel, going in to what would have been a start late in the season, showed up drunk at practice on a Wednesday,” NFL Network’s Michael Silver reported. “The Browns lied and said he was in the concussion protocol. Let me say that again: The Browns lied. To try to protect and, I would argue, enable this irresponsible and very troubled young man.”
The Browns denied the cover-up allegations in a statement to Cleveland.com.
“Johnny Manziel was diagnosed with a concussion by an independent neurologist,” the team said. “He wasn’t cleared until Jan. 12. The fact that people are saying we lied about [Manziel’s] concussion is false.”
Silver defended his reporting in a series of Twitter messages later on Wednesday: “I do not have direct knowledge of what Manziel may have told the doctor or doctors who evaluated him, or what might have been suggested. If the Browns say they did not lie about Manziel’s diagnosis, I will take them at their word, and I regret using that term (‘lied’). I stand by my original report that Manziel showed up drunk at practice and that witnesses believed this was the cause of his ‘behavior.’”
Manziel, who is currently at the center of a domestic violence investigation following an altercation with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, is set to be released by the Browns next month. The 23-year-old played in 14 games in his two seasons in Cleveland, and has been on a downward spiral for the past several month
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