As the story went, from two different news outlets, Johnny Manziel held a party on Friday night. Receiver Josh Gordon was reportedly there. On Saturday, Gordon didn't show up to a walk-through practice and Manziel was late to get treatment on his hamstring. Gordon was suspended and Manziel was fined.
Manziel said the story of him throwing a party were "100 percent false." He said there was no party, he just had three friends in from Texas, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and ESPN.com.
The fact about the party might be disputed, but the fallout is the same. Manziel said he was out too late and overslept. He was fined for being late to something as simple as getting treatment for an injury. Team security was reportedly dispatched to find him after Manziel didn't show up and didn't answer his phone. After going on and on last week about how he had learned as a rookie and this coming offseason would be different, it was not a good sign that he was being sincere.
Manziel said he knows that.
"It's about actions, it's about being accountable instead of looking like a jackass," Manziel said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said Manziel apologized to the team. On Sunday, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam talked about not tolerating irresponsible players. The Browns had Gordon, Manziel and rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert all punished last weekend for not showing up to meetings, treatment or practice. When asked about Manziel and whether he's the quarterback of the future, Haslam wouldn't commit to him. Haslam was a major reason Manziel is even in Cleveland; if he has lost the support of the owner he might really be in trouble.
Manziel said he knows that, too.
"Either i'm going to learn or I'm going to be finding something else to do," Manziel said, according to the reports.
This makes for a very interesting story going forward. Most players who don't understand how to be a professional don't realize they're screwing things up until it's way too late. Manziel at very least has a clear understanding that his actions and all the off-the-field hullabaloo are causing the Browns to lose faith in him. But after acknowledging all of that early last week, he immediately made another mistake. So we have a player with some level of self awareness, still with enough time to get things right, and nobody knows if he will follow through on all his promises.
Manziel is never boring, at least.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
from Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/johnny-manziel-gives-his-side-of-most-recent-off-field-story-184038696.html
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