Photo: Andrew Weber/Getty
In the years since rising to prominence as a gifted quarterback at Texas A&M,Johnny Manzielhas fallen at the center of multiple controversies that have derailed the promising career he once had ahead of him.
The former Cleveland Browns quarterback recently signed with the newly formed Alliance of American Football in March after spending just under a year playing in Canada. The 26-year-old made his debut with the Memphis Express on March 24, but the happiness would be cut short just a few days later when heconfirmed he and wife Bre Tiesi have separated.The split came after the model accused Manziel of cheating on her while she was overseas on vacation earlier this month, sources told PEOPLE.
The reports of infidelity follow turmoil that has seemed to surround Manziel since as early as his freshman year at Texas A&M.
According toSports Illustrated, Manziel was arrested for fighting and giving police a fake ID in June 2012, and was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to identify and possessing a false identification card, and would pay $2,000 in fines as part of his plea agreement.
Then, just two games later, Manziel would break that record again, and become the first player in SEC history to have two 500-yard total offense games in a season.
Manziel won the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy in 2012, making him the first freshman ever to nab both awards.
Excessive partying
With anticipation mounting heading into his second season as quarterback in 2013, Manziel was criticized for cutting short his scheduled stay as a college coach and counselor at the Manning Passing Academy — which some speculated was because he was “partying,” according toESPN. Manziel’s father claimed at the time that his son left the program early due to dehydration.
That same month, video surfaced of Manziel, then 20, gettingkicked out of a University of Texas frat party. He was then seen partying at adifferent school the very next day.
Joining the Cleveland Browns
In 2014, Manziel declared his candidacy for the NFL draft and attempted to put the scandals at Texas A&M behind him.
“I was a kid who made some goofball decisions,” hetoldtheHouston Chronicleat the time. “That’s been part of my journey. Maybe it’s part of the whole Johnny Football deal that I’m trying to get away from. I’m trying to show people I’ve grown up and I’ve learned from my experiences. I feel like you’re a stupid person if you continue to make the same wrong decisions.
While he was initially projected to be a top pick, it was hard to identify how high he would go in the draft. Though he was undeniably talented, many saw Manziel as a potential liability.
“I don’t like his antics,” Former NFL head coach Barry Switzer toldYahoo Sportsof Manziel. “I think he’s an arrogant little prick.”
AKM-GSI
Manziel would not earn the starting quarterback job with the Browns until a game late into his rookie season, which ended in a 30–0 blowout loss. In his second start, he suffered a hamstring injury and did not play again.
Treatment and domestic assault allegations
Bre Tiesi/Instagram
Post-NFL
In February 2018, Manziel told ABC News that he suffers from depression and was taking medication for bipolar disorder.
“That’s what I thought would make me happy and get out of that depression,” Manzielsaid. “When I would wake up the next day after a night like that, going on a trip like that, and you wake up the next day and that is all gone, that liquid courage, or that liquid … sense of euphoria that is over you, is all gone.”
He wouldmarry Bre Tiesi in March 2018. A rep for Manziel declined to comment to PEOPLE on the dissolution of the relationship.
source: people.com
