http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/texasamaggies/2016/02/05/johnny-manziels-father-son-get-help-qb-live-see-24th-birthdayJohnny Manziel's father: If son doesn't get help, QB 'won't live to see his 24th birthday'
Johnny Manziel's family is concerned for his well-being as his NFL career and personal life falter, but the quarterback has twice declined to be admitted to area rehabilitation facilities in the last week, according to his father, Paul Manziel.
"I truly believe if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday," Paul Manziel told The Dallas Morning News.
On Friday, Manziel's agent Erik Burkhardt also voiced concern for Manziel, 23, and announced that he is terminating their professional relationship.
Paul Manziel first tried Saturday afternoon to get Manziel, whose birthday is in December, to agree to go to the Enterhealth Ranch addiction facility in Van Alstyne, but he would not stay. That attempt came the day after Manziel's former girlfriend alleged in a police report that he hit her repeatedly at a Dallas hotel and while driving her home to Fort Worth on Jan. 29. Manziel has not been charged in the incident, but a Fort Worth Police helicopter searched the area for him.
Paul Manziel said that he tried to have his son admitted Tuesday to Carrollton Springs Hospital, but that Johnny was allowed to leave. Paul Manziel said that he is upset that his son was allowed to walk away after Paul told a Denton County Sheriff officer that he believed Johnny to be suicidal. A public information officer from the Denton County Sheriff's office said it has no record of Manziel coming into contact with an officer. Carrollton Springs is a 45-bed psychiatric and chemical dependency hospital in Carrollton, providing inpatient and outpatient treatment to adults suffering from mental illness and/or addiction, according to its website.
Johnny Manziel, who is from Tyler and Kerrville, Texas, has spent the last several weeks in Dallas. The former Texas A&M quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner has been seen out, including at Wednesday night's Mavericks game.
Colleen Crowley, Manziel's ex-girlfriend, said Manziel acted like he was on drugs but not intoxicated during the Jan. 29 incident, according to the police report.
He also allegedy dragged her by her hair, forced her into a car and told her to "shut up or I'll kill us both," WFAA-TV (Channel
reported, citing unnamed sources.
Paul Manziel told Fort Worth police he had seen his son and his son was doing fine, according to the police report. Paul Manziel went on to say that he did not wish to further comment on the situation and requested officers not contact him again unless there is an existing warrant.
Manziel, who is expected to be released from the Cleveland Browns in early March, spent time in a rehabilitation facility during the last NFL off-season.
He started six games for the Browns this season, his second in the league, but his time in Cleveland has been dominated by off-field incidents since he was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
In a statement Friday, Burkhardt said: "It is with deep regret that after several emotional and very personal discussions with his family, his doctors, and my client himself, I have made the decision to terminate my professional relationship with Johnny Manziel. Though I will remain a friend and Johnny supporter and he knows I have worked tirelessly to arrange a number of professional options for him to continue to pursue, it has become painfully obvious that his future rests solely in his own hands. His family and I have gone to great lengths to outline the steps we feel he must take to get his life in order. Accountability is the foundation of any relationship, and without it, the function of my work is counterproductive."
That Manziel's voracious social life and partyboy reputation could be the symptoms of deeper issues emerged when Paul Manziel publicly worried about Johnny and the fishbowl scrutiny on the quarterback in a August 2013 ESPN story, with Manziel about to begin his redshirt sophomore season at A&M.
"Yeah," Paul said then, "it could come unraveled. And when it does, it's gonna be bad. Real bad."
A friend of Johnny Manziel's since his time at A&M said he doesn't share Paul Manziel's concerns. Johnny is a normal guy who has made some questionable decisions, the friend said.
The friend said Manziel has been working out at a facility in Dallas and is intent on getting back into the NFL as a starting quarterback.
If the Browns do release Manziel in early March, it makes him available to other teams. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has had a long-standing interest in the player since almost drafting him in the first round in 2014. Other Cowboys executives are less enthusiastic about Manziel, but the team is looking for a backup quarterback.
The NFL toughened its stance on domestic violence before the start of the 2014 season. If the NFL rules that Manziel violated the league's personal conduct policy, he would be suspended without pay for at least six games for a first offense and would face a lifetime ban from the NFL for a second offense.
Manziel doesn't have to be found guilty in court -- or even charged -- to face punishment by the NFL.
The NFL typically doesn't move swiftly with its rulings on suspensions. The league could take months before ruling on the length of a possible suspension for Manziel. At that point, he would probably appeal.
Under league rules, any player arrested or charged with conduct violating the new domestic violence policy will be offered a formal clinical evaluation and appropriate follow-up education, counseling or treatment.
