Just days after Johnny Manziel admitted that he needs to take his job ‘a lot more seriously,’ the rookie quarterback was late to report to the team for medical treatment after, according to ESPN, throwing a party on Friday night that led to teammates Josh Gordon and Justin Gilbert missing team meetings (Gilbert was deactivated for the season finale, and Gordon was suspended).

Manziel’s misstep off the field has reignited the debate over whether or not he’s committed enough to become a successful NFL starter. On ESPN’s First Take Monday, Skip Bayless said that Manziel “continues to lie to himself” over what Bayless calls an alcohol problem.

“Bayless: It is time for me to come down harder on a concern that I repeatedly voiced on this show before Johnny was drafted. My concern, I repeatedly said, was if Johnny continues to demonstrate that he has a problem with alcohol, and a problem with alcohol leading to partying and all that that entails, then I’m going to be out. I’m going to be off the bandwagon. I will no longer support a kid that I do like personally, and I have come to that point Stephen A. In talking to people in and around the Cleveland Browns, I believe Johnny Manziel continues to have a problem with alcohol. And I believe, Stephen A., that it is time for Johnny to get some help. He continues to lie to his executives, to his coaches, to his teammates, to the media, and most of all, he continues to lie to himself.

….

Smith: You’re essentially telling me that you believe that Johnny Manziel is an alcoholic and a liar? Is that correct?

Bayless: I do. Yes I do. He has a problem – if you want to call him an alcoholic, I’ll go that far. I think he can’t handle his alcohol.”

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SOURCE: USA Today
Nick Swartz