Johnny Manziel

I have an amount of sympathy for anyone who struggles with addiction problems. It's not easy when your life is controlled by a substance you don't like using in the first place. You wake up in the morning and all you think about is getting home to get high. You say you'll just party and smoke up over the weekend, but soon the weekend becomes Thursday because it's close to the weekend. And Wednesday because you need something to get you through the week. And Tuesday because it's near Thursday and you are just coming down from the weekend. And Monday because it's right after the weekend and you need it to get you through the week anyway. And Sunday just to relax and unwind after church. And Saturday because it's Saturday night anyway and you should be allowed to unwind. And Friday because it's Friday and everyone else is going out anyway. 

I know about addiction firsthand. 

But I also know about accountability. Manziel seems to have none of that. Sympathy only goes so far, and eventually he needs to get his stuff together before he kills himself or someone else. He was a great college quarterback but at this point it looks like it his success won't translate to the NFL due to his attitude and behavior. While it's true, many people thought he didn't have the skill set needed to be an NFL quarterback, he had some kind of natural talent that got him into the NFL and he maybe could have made some money playing in NFL Europe, the CFL or Arena ball. Europe, Arena and CFL may not be glamours but it's still a pretty cool way to make a living. 

My sympathy sharply decreased after it became clear that aside from being an addict, he's also an asshole. Slapping around his girlfriend is repulsive and no, you can't just blame the alcohol. He's gotten into fights with fans, at clubs, and at fraternity parties. Eventually if you keep getting into brawls drunk or not two things are apparent. 1) You are the problem, not everyone and else and 2) You need to change your behavior before you get yourself a serious ass kicking. No matter how tough you are eventually you will pick a fight with the wrong person and get seriously injured. Brien Taylor was a MLB baseball prospect who had "potential" (such a funny word) to be outstanding. One bar fight later, his career was over. 

Maiziel will always get sympathy from people because of his addiction problems. I understand that fully and don't really disagree. Eventually though those who really cared about him would stop enabling him and shift into tough love mode. LeBron James and Drake won't keep calling him if he fades into oblivion. While I think people will still care about the story, no one will care about him.