Lakers News: Disgraced Former Football Star Regrets Mishandling Friendship With LeBron James
Big things were expected of former Texas A&M Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel when he declared for the NFL draft in 2014. The six-foot, 210-pound "Johnny Football" was selected with the No. 22 pick by the Cleveland Browns, and quickly signed with LeBron James associate Maverick Carter.
During an appearance on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, Manziel addressed the falling out of his friendship with James, then about to embark on his second Cleveland Cavaliers stint prior to joining your Los Angeles Lakers, and Carter.
“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,” Manziel continued.
“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 added. "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.”
Ultimately, Manziel played just eight total NFL games, amid drug and mental health problems.
