Caption:KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 27: Johnny Manziel #2 of the Cleveland Browns avoids the tackle of Ron Parker #38 of the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium during the fourth quarter of the game on December 27, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
This past Wednesday, the Montreal Alouettes released former Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.
The CFL released an official statement saying the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner has been terminated. The league has also gone as far as to inform the eight other teams that they wouldn’t officially register a contract for Manziel if they were to even try and sign him. The Alouettes had his full rights for two seasons within the contract.
The commissioner of the CFL, Randy Ambrosie, had this to say, “We advised Montreal that Johnny had violated one of the conditions we had set for him to be in our league. And Montreal announced his release today. We didn’t release the terms of those conditions then and we’re not going to do that now.” The commissioner opted to not publicly release the information on why Manziel was released.
The general manager of the Alouettes, Kavis Reed, told reporters that Montreal would not have released Manziel if the CFL did not force the move. Reed also commented on the issue.
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“No, sir. Mr. Manziel’s performance on the field showed that he had a very good upside, but Mr. Manziel violated the terms and we all understood those terms and we have to be compliant with them,” Reed said.
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Not wanting to reveal any of the details of Manziel’s agreement, Reed continued speaking on the subject.
“We are disappointed by this turn of events. Johnny was provided a great deal of support by our organization, in collaboration with the CFL, but he has been unable to abide by the terms of his agreement,” Reed said in a statement. “We worked with the league and presented alternatives to Johnny, who was unwilling to proceed.”
Manziel took to Twitter to voice his thanks from the head coach, his teammates and the fans of the league for embracing him. He looks forward to opportunities in the United States to play, stating that his time there helped re-establish his love for the game.
This seems to be another bump in the road for the former Heisman-winning quarterback, as he’s fighting for a chance to play in the NFL again. Manziel has had a very turbulent history, being labeled as a “party animal” while attending college, then once making the league get involved with a domestic violence case. There were also rumors about him being an alcoholic that spread through the media, but he proceeded to take anger management classes and join the NFL’s substance abuse program in order to get back on track.
In an recent interview, Manziel stated that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has also stopped drinking. Manziel said that’s he’s fully committed to playing football and that he and his agent are trying to find the best situation possible for him to play in.
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