CLEVELAND -- Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has made frequent appearances in the tabloids for his off-the-field partying, but in recent months, he has been mentioned in a different arena, the police blotter.
Currently, Manziel is awaiting word of potential misdemeanor assault charges from a grand jury in Dallas, Texas, stemming from an incident with his former girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, on January 30th.
“I want to make sure we all understand that that behavior will not be tolerated as we move forward,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said when speaking to the media at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine last month. “Our organization’s going to take a stand, and we’re going to move on from those kinds of situations as we move forward.”
Crowley applied for and was granted an order of protection against Manziel after detailing an alleged assault in an affidavit in court seeking the order from a judge in Texas. Last month, the details within the affidavit came to light.
What was known was before the release of the affidavit was in the early-morning hours of Saturday, January 30th, Manziel, who was listed as a suspect in the police report, met up with his ex-girlfriend at a hotel in Dallas. After friends left the two alone, Crowley claims Manziel was “aggressive towards her.” It was further detailed that Manziel struck her several times, including once to the left ear while appearing to be “on some kind of drugs” but not intoxicated.
After Manziel told Crowley that he would drive her home, it was documented in the report that she was again struck several times before arriving back at her Fort Worth apartment. Crowley was said to have attempted trying to get away from Manziel before breaking free and going to a nearby neighbor seeking help, at which time, he left the scene.
Then, in the affidavit, new details came to light about Manziel throwing Crowley against a hotel bed, and then, forcibly putting her in a vehicle to drive from the hotel to her apartment in Fort Worth while she asked for and was not given any help from a valet.
“When we got to the valet, I was crying and begged the valet, ‘Please don't let him take me. I'm scared for my life,’” Crowley said in the affidavit. “The valet replied, ‘I don't know what to do,’ and allowed Manziel to ‘literally throw me in the front passenger seat of his car.’
“I jumped out of the car and ran across the street and hid behind some bushes. He flipped a U-turn and pulled right into where I was hiding. He grabbed me by my hair and threw me back into the car.”
According to Crowley, Manziel threatened to kill both of them on the way back to her apartment, where she took measures to defend herself.
“He then smashed my phone onto the tile in my apartment entry,” Crowley said. “I was in my kitchen so out of fear for my life, I pulled a knife out of my knife block and advanced toward him. He ran out of the apartment.”
The January incident between Manziel and Crowley was the not the first report of a physical altercation between the two.
In mid-October, the Browns were basking in the glory of a victory over the Ravens, their first in Baltimore since the 10-6 season of 2007, but while his teammates were enjoying the extra day off, Manziel was being pulled over by police in Avon for an alleged domestic dispute with Crowley.
Eye-witness calls to the police from fellow travelers along Interstate 90 detailed Manziel, who admitted to having a couple drinks downtown before heading home, as driving erratically on the highway and in a physical argument with Crowley, who was heard on the police video saying “he hurt me several times,” and also, “I’m in fear for my life.”
Manziel not only admitted to police that he had a couple drinks prior to the roadside stop with Crowley, but then, in the days following a Thursday Night Football loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, through posts on social media, he was seen partying with co-eds at his alma mater, Texas A&M, following a ceremony for their newly renovated Kyle Field.
Last offseason, Manziel spent 10 weeks at a rehabilitation facility for undisclosed issues.
In addition to the incidents with Crowley, in November of 2014, Manziel and members of his inner circle were involved in a late Friday night/early Saturday morning altercation that required police intervention.
Cleveland police were called to the lobby of The 9 apartments on East Ninth Street after the alleged victim, 33-year old Sandusky resident Chris Gonos, attempted to hug Manziel. As Gonos approached the rookie quarterback and explained he was lifelong Browns fan, he was punched in the face and suffered a “swollen lip, swollen right eye and a red face.”
Manziel was never charged for having a role in the incident with Gonos.
