That Johnny Manziel has thrown his NFL career away isn’t the greatest tragedy.
It’s that his life might very well be next.
Hours before the NFL announced that it was suspending Manziel for four games for substance abuse, effectively ending his career, ESPN reported that the quarterback has told friends he’s determined to clean up his life. So much so, he’s set a July 1 deadline for his sobriety.
If only it worked that way.
Deadlines or resolutions are motivational tactics to get yourself back to the gym or finally lose those last five pounds. They are useless against an addiction so powerful, so complete in its destructiveness that everything else pales in importance to getting that next fix. Hopes, dreams, plans, potential – all of those are negotiable for someone in the clutches of alcohol or drugs.
It doesn’t matter how old or famous you are. When an addiction is so consuming that it’s sucking the very life out of someone, he’ll either get help or he’ll die. There are no in-betweens – and there certainly is no trip to Cabo for one last bender before you get serious about getting sober.
Yet that’s where Manziel is now.
Someone who recognizes he has a problem also realizes he can’t turn it on and off, as Manziel seems to think he can. And someone who recognizes he has a problem also realizes he needs to focus all his energies on the day that’s in front of him, not think ahead to the possibility of playing in the NFL a year from now, as ESPN reported he has talked about with friends.
"Ultimately you want that person to take ownership of whatever it is they’re dealing with. That's where you're going to see the best results," said Dwight Hollier, the NFL's vice president of wellness and clinical services. "Someone who, for instance, is dealing with a substance-abuse issue is going to have a hard time taking that ownership because of that dependence. Hopefully, there’s someone who can have an influence on that person to get them to the right resources."
Manziel is fortunate in that there is no shortage of people still worrying about him and wanting to help. His father, Paul, has said he fears for his son’s life and forcibly checked him into rehab this year. The Cleveland Browns tried tough love, first within their building and then by cutting him. Charles Barkley shared his own family’s heartbreak as a cautionary tale.
And the NFL continues to try and reach him, with executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent saying this week that the league will support him whenever he’s ready. Without addressing Manziel specifically, Hollier said the league can offer substance-abuse resources, free counseling and, should a player choose, referrals to in-patient care.
But it has to start with Manziel. No one can force him to get help, and a self-imposed “deadline” for sobriety is just a line in the sand waiting to be erased.
“It’s what you go to bed every night thinking how do you assist someone that’s really not interested or quite frankly doesn’t want to meet you halfway,” Vincent said in an interview Tuesday with Rob Maaddi on 610 Sports in Philadelphia.
“You can have all the resources and they’re endless ... They’re there. They’re available,” Vincent said. “But if an individual is not willing to meet you halfway to get assistance, it’s very difficult because it’s something you can’t make an individual do anything.
“In this particular case, it’s obvious it’s gotten out of control.”
Those who truly care about Manziel – not the leeches just looking to party with Johnny Football – are not concerned about his future in the NFL. Good thing, because he no longer has one.
Even if a team was willing to overlook his marginal performances on the field and his insubordination and volatility off of it, no one is going to sign a backup quarterback knowing he might miss most of the season. The four games announced Thursday by the NFL could be followed by a six-game suspension for an altercation earlier this year with his ex-girlfriend.
But there is more to life than football. There is life, period. And if Manziel doesn’t realize soon that he’s out of control and needs help, he’s going to lose that, too.
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