Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel has voiced out his regret about his time in Cleveland and his interactions with LeBron James and Cavaliers icon and marketing manager Maverick Carter.
Speaking on the “Club Shay Shay” show with Shannon Sharpe, the ex-quarterback Manziel discussed his brief and disappointing tenure with the Browns that did not pan out how he would have wished, according to the New York Post.
Manziel confessed to mistreating both Carter (James’ longtime friend) and James after signing with Carter to handle his business affairs. Following his brief NFL career and low completion percentage, Manziel admitted that Carter and James still harbor resentment toward him after terminating their professional relationship in January 2016.
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“The thing that I realize now is the reason why they’re probably still pissed at me to this day: They don’t lose. They don’t bet on anything that’s not a sure thing,” Manziel said. “And what I did and the way I carried myself and the way that I was in my time during Cleveland was pure and blatant disrespect to them giving me everything that I could have ever needed to be successful.”
“So something that still to this day, I think now that we’re talking about it, I haven’t completely truly got over yet how I let them down.”
In a Netflix documentary, Manziel disclosed that he battled with substance abuse and mental health challenges while with the Cleveland Browns. He revealed that at some point he contemplated suicide after his release from the team in 2016.
He told Sharpe that his battles with depression caused him to distance himself from James, despite James’ attempts to spend time together when they were both available.
Manziel revealed that James would regularly reach out to watch games and play poker with friends, but due to his deteriorating mental health, he struggled to even get out of bed.
“I was so depressed for the first time in my life that even my biggest role model and inspiration in my life couldn’t get me out of bed to come and hang out with them,” he said. You know, when I went to the Cavs games, I went, I was in and I was out. I didn’t really grasp and latch on to him in a way that I should have. And he tries to take me under his wing, right? And I’m just kind of nudging it away because of where my mental [health] is and being just fully depressed and where I was in my life. Is that excuse?”
“Absolutely not. Because at the end of the day, the respect that I should have for them, giving me everything should trump all else.”
The former NFL quarterback lamented not caring enough to do the right things, conceding that it weighs heavily on him.
