I feel for Cleveland Browns fans. Really, I do.
They deserve better than being beaten over the head with bad news repeatedly. This week alone, the Browns have announced 2014 first-round pick Johnny Manziel checked into a treatment facility, the NFL announced Browns receiver Josh Gordon is suspended at least a year for the latest in an amazingly long line of failed NFL's substance abuse policy tests, and now there's a report the Browns could face serious penalties over a texting allegation.
In January there was a report from Mary Kay Cabot of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that a high-ranking official was texting about play calls from the press box to the sideline. Not only is that amazingly out of line in common NFL protocol, it's against league rules against electronic communications during games. The report said offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wanted to leave because of Browns' dysfunction, and one of the reasons was the texts. Shanahan is now the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator.
Cabot reported Wednesday that the alleged texting Browns official was general manager Ray Farmer, and the NFL is investigating. Farmer's messages were reportedly relayed to the coaches on the sideline. Cabot wrote there could be a multi-game suspension for Farmer, a large fine or even loss of draft pick.
It's not like we didn't know of the Browns' dysfunction issues before, between multiple assistants turning them down for their head-coach opening last offseason after they fired Rob Chudzinksi after one year, and the total overhaul of the front office out of the blue, but it's still pretty brutal.
No matter what kind of penalties the Browns get, the reports on the whole ordeal are yet another embarrassment for a really beleaguered franchise.
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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
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