After reporting on the air that the Browns lied about Johnny Manziel having a concussion to cover up Manziel’s drinking, NFL Network reporter Mike Silver has backed off. But only backed off half of the report.
Silver wrote on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon that he regrets saying that the Browns lied about Manziel having a concussion. But Silver still says Manziel was drunk when he reported to work on the Wednesday of Week 17.
“I’ve been told by multiple sources that Manziel showed up late to the team facility for a meeting & noticeably drunk on Wednesday, Dec. 30,” Silver wrote today. “He was later placed in the concussion protocol & sent home. I am not a doctor & thus cannot presume to question the diagnosis of an independent neurologist or any medical professional. 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 & that witnesses believed this was the cause of his ‘behavior’.”
In his original on-air report, Silver was emphatic that the Browns lied about Manziel’s concussion diagnosis. It’s not a leap to wonder if the Browns, who own a 1/32nd share of NFL Network, may have suggested to Silver’s bosses that they were not too pleased with that report, and that may have led to Silver backing off.