Last week, we reported that the rookie was under investigation by police for a brawl that occurred outside of his hotel. Today, Johnny Manziel claimed that he tried to “avoid an altercation at all costs”. Hit the jump for details.
Via ESPN:
“It was a very unfortunate situation, a situation that was tried to be averted at all costs, and one that [I] was unfortunately not able to really get away from,” Manziel said. “I let [the Browns] know what really happened and wanted them to be on top of it from the very get-go. I’m very thankful for the Browns having my back in all this and at the same time supporting me on a situation that seemed to be a little blown out of proportion.”
Manziel spoke clearly and thoroughly about the incident, adding that his face was not “smashed” in the incident, as Gonos told Clevescene.com. He briefly raised his maroon beanie from his forehead, likely to show his unmarked face, emphasizing that the media would have noticed if his face was bruised. Manziel said he’s not in any trouble with authorities.
The only thing left unclear is whether Manziel took physical action. He declined details on whether he threw or absorbed a punch. Security “got things under wraps” and Manziel quickly got upstairs to his home, he said.“I’m not going to go into exact details of everything that happened,” Manziel said when asked if he threw a punch. “It was broken up really fast, and at the time it was more toward my roommate than it was toward me, the initial offering.
“After there had been some aggressiveness and hostility in the lobby, we didn’t want to enter the elevator with this guy. There was kind of a brief pause trying to decide if we were going to get into the elevator and avert this whole thing or if they were going to go up.”
The Browns said on Monday they were gathering information but that the “time of the incident was concerning to us.”
Manziel said his lifestyle has changed dramatically since his arrival in the spring. He said he doesn’t go out much anymore. This night, he did.
Click above gallery for pictures.
