Johnny Manziel's Dad on 'Druggie' Son: 'I Hate to Say It, But I Hope He Goes to Jail'
Johnny Manziel's father says he just wants his son to get the help he needs.
In an interview with ESPN's Josina Anderson on Friday, Paul Manziel said that it is up to his troubled son to find a solution to his many issues.
"He's a druggie. It's not a secret that he's a druggie," Paul said. "I don't know what to say other than my son is a druggie and he needs help. He just hasn't seeked it yet. Hopefully he doesn't die before he comes to his senses. That's about all you can say."
Paul continued: "He has more money than me, so he can outrun me. Like I said, there are two things that are going to happen: He's either going to die, or he's going to figure out that he needs help. It's one of the two. But we've done everything that we can do. Life goes on. You can't just chase somebody that's not willing to listen. The story is not going to change."
"I mean, I hate to say it, but I hope he goes to jail. I mean, that would be the best place for him," Paul added.
Manziel's father added that although his family has made every possible attempt to help the 23-year-old, he would still help his son if Johnny reached out to him.
"I'm done talking about it," he said. "I'm doing my job and I'm going to move on. If I have to bury him, I'll bury him. That's the fact. So if not, if he calls me and needs help, I'll go get him. Until then, he's on his own. I've done everything I can do."
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Earlier this week, in a text accidentally sent to the Associated Press, a defense lawyer in Manziel's ongoing domestic violence case expressed his doubts about the athlete's sobriety and revealed he had been given a receipt allegedly proving that Manziel had spent more than $1,000 at a drug paraphernalia store shortly after his car was struck in a hit-and-run crash.
"Heaven help us if one of the conditions [of a plea deal] is to pee in a bottle," Bob Hinton wrote of the domestic violence case, which was levied by Manziel's ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley.
Crowley alleges that on Jan. 30, Manziel hit and threatened her while they were out in Dallas. If found guilty, the misdemeanor assault charge could result in Manziel spending up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The receipt from a Gas Pipe store "purports to reflect" that Manziel spent $1,018.77 on drug paraphernalia at 12:03 p.m. on Tuesday, just hours after his car accident the night before.
"I don't know if the receipt is legitimate or not," Hinton told the AP. "I just know that it doesn't say Johnny's name on it anywhere that I can see."
2016 has marked a period of troubled times for the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner. Two agents have cut ties with Manziel for his hard-partying ways, several sponsors terminated their deals with him and, in March, the Cleveland Browns released the quarterback from their roster.
