Yet another Johnny Manziel video emerged over the weekend, with the quarterback in a selfie-style video. While the image is flipped, it appears he’s wearing a Christmas sweater that says “Merry Manziel.” Which suggests it was shot recently.
The more problematic aspect of the video comes from the possibility that the can he’s holding contains an alcoholic beverage. Some think it’s a can of Four Loko, which contains alcohol. Manziel spent 10 weeks earlier this year in rehab, and his partying got him demoted last month after he spent the weekend of the team’s bye in Texas -- and a video of his exploits emerged.
In a conference call with reporters on Monday, coach Mike Pettine said he hadn’t seen the latest video. But it’s clear that he plans to review it and, possibly, to once again discuss the situation with Manziel.
“Anytime there’s something with our players that casts them potentially in a bad light, whether it’s Johnny or any of our other guys, it’s certainly a concern,” Pettine said. “I’m sure I’ll see it and have a discussion with him about it. These circumstances are different from the incident that occurred before, but I’m just not going to go into a ton of detail with it until I get a little bit more information about it. It’s something that I’m sure privately we’ll discuss, if it needs to be discussed.”
While Pettine expressed resistance to the notion of “micromanaging personal lives,” Pettine realizes that, for NFL players (and particularly quarterbacks), personal lives quickly can become public -- especially if the player makes his personal life public with photos and videos.
“It is very public, unfortunately,” Pettine said. “The thing that is disappointing is how public it becomes, and it is something that with all the players [sic]. We are going to sit down with them before they get out of here and see where they are personally and professionally, and certainly, Johnny will be no exception.”
Pettine declined to say whether the conduct will result in another demotion, because he hasn’t seen the video. And Pettine ultimately may decide not to speak to Manziel at all.
Much of it depends on the understanding that Pettine and Manziel had when Manziel got his latest second chance. Earlier this month, Pettine said that “repercussions would be harsh” in the event of another incident, but it’s unclear what would amount to another incident that would trigger repercussions.
With only one game left in the season, there’s not much that can be done -- especially if owner Jimmy Haslam decides to change coaches after the season ends.