Contrary to media reports over the summer, Johnny Manziel said he never saw a counselor for anger management and alcohol abuse while at Texas A&M.
Johnny Manziel denies report he sought counseling for alcohol, anger management
Speaking to the press at the NFL Combine, Manziel admitted he saw a counselor at Texas A&M but said it was not for drinking or anger management.
Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports
"No sir, I don't believe those are true," the potential No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft told reporters when questioned about an ESPN report from last July that indicated he had gone through counseling while on campus at College Station, according to Will Brinson of CBS Sports.
Manziel did admit he talked to “an in-house guy” that Aggie head coach Kevin Sumlin set him up with and who Manziel developed a “good relationship” with, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer. When questioned further about the title of that individual, the star quarterback told Josina Anderson he didn’t know.
The ESPN report, written by Wright Thompson, claimed Manziel saw an alcohol counselor for “six or seven weeks” following an arrest prior to his Heisman-winning freshman year. The article painted Manziel as a largely good-intentioned kid whose drinking and anger issues led to a summer that repeatedly found him making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Last July, Manziel was asked to leave the Manning Passing Academy early, prompting rumors of heavy drinking and hangovers. Photos and videos spread on social media of Manziel partying at bars and fraternity houses have only fueled his image as a partier.
Manziel’s father, Paul, expressed concern to Wright.
“If it comes from his drinking, or if he’s mad at himself for not being a better person when he fails, when he fails God and his mom and me. If it makes him angry that he’s got demons in him.”
For his part, Manziel said his social life won’t be a factor in his NFL performance.
“When I decided to go pro, I put my college years in the past, [partying] won’t be a hard thing not to do.”
See More:
