Johnny Manziel is on the Right Path
When I found out Johnny Manziel came out and said he has bipolar and depression, I did a little digging into my past writing.
In an article written by me on March 14, 2016, I stated the following.
I believe that Johnny truly has a mental illness and that the way he behaves is because of addiction and not a simple choice. Given countless chances, the party animal has refused to change. He needs to get help before we one day wake up and hear of his death. While that’s a very extreme take, his ex has talked about how he’s expressed wanting to die during his darkest moments.
I wanted the Browns to draft Johnny Manziel so badly and the fact that the situation did not play out the way it was intended to was saddening to me. The Browns cannot be blamed for Manziel’s craziness, but they certainly did not help the cause. The chaotic front office and horrible mismanagement of Manziel was tough to endure, even as a fan.
Johnny was crying out for help and no one was able to step up and make sure he got on the right path. It ended up with him getting released from the Browns, out of the NFL and doing God knows what with his free time.
The stigma of mental illness is one that has improved here in 2018, but will always be there. I commend Johnny Manziel for his quest dubbed “Comeback SZN” to get his life back on track and maybe even make it to the NFL again. I wish he could rejoin the Browns, but that will never happen again.
Coming from someone who has had his fair share of mental illness troubles, I believe in you, Johnny. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it. Telling the entire world is something very brave and admirable.
A lot of people do not realize how hard it is for famous people to deal with their successes in life. I certainly cannot imagine the difficulties Johnny had from a young age. A college kid beating teams like Alabama, drafted in the first round. It must’ve been hard to absorb the constant attention and pressure that came with it.
I bought a shirt to support Johnny’s cause and you can here.
Will we ever see Johnny Manziel in a NFL uniform again? That remains to be seen. But it appears, at least for the time now, that Johnny is getting his life on track, which is much more important than any important touchdown he’ll throw in any league.
My advice to Johnny (if he’s reading this), is to accept that there are going to be bad days. The good days are easy. Once a person is able to overcome the bad days in their life, when nothing is working and all hope is lost, that’s when you know you’ve beaten the chemicals in your brain with your own willpower.
Godspeed.
