Former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has revealed having blown LeBron James off on multiple occasions while they were both playing in Cleveland.
Manziel was a guest on Shannon Sharpe’s popular ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast, where he expressed regret over the way he handled some of his relationships with other notable personalities.
The erstwhile QB has spoken about his struggles with depression in the past and opened up on it again while speaking to the Hall of Famer.
He disclosed having received offers to hang out with LBJ, who reached out while he was at one of his lowest points, but shunned them as it was hard to even get out of bed.
“I remember, this is how bad off I was whenever I was in Cleveland, LeBron would text me every week to come over to the house and watch a game or play poker with the boys and just tried to be there, and 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 him.
“When I went to the Cavs games I went. I was in, 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, and I’m just kind of nudging it away because of where my mental is and being just fully depressed, and where I was in my life. Is that an 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.”
Manziel was drafted out of Texas A&M in 2014, with the Browns selecting him as the 22nd-overall pick. He was the second signal-caller picked, behind Blake Bortles.
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Despite the hype surrounding his move to the pros, Manziel only made 14 appearances.
According to Manziel, LeBron wasn’t the only celebrity he disrespected, with Hall of Famer Joe Thomas and rapper Drake among the people he feels he let down.
“It’s tough. It’s embarrassing,” he said. “It’s embarrassing to have been the guy that have let down some overall really great athletes in my time and in my generation. It’s something I carry hopefully with my head high right now but at the same time, internally, I know it eats me alive because they did more for me than I had gave in return to them.
“And what a shallow kind of selfish way of life that I was living at that point in time and I have a lot regret, like, I regret wasting a couple of Joe Thomas’ last years in Cleveland. I regret disrespecting LeBron and not making sure what it meant to me. Showing him that I give a F- enough to just do what’s right. To listen to Mav and listen to the team they built around me.”
Manziel also said he would welcome the opportunity to apologize in person to some of the people he blew off.
