Mike Pettine: NFL meeting with Johnny Manziel is imminent
By Thomas Moore
Oct 25, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) warms up prior to the game against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL’s meeting with Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is “imminent,” according to head coach Mike Pettine.
“I do know when the league will interview Johnny,” Pettine said on Wednesday, according to media reports. “That meeting is imminent. … There’s a sense of urgency to it.”
The league is investigating the Oct. 12 incident where Manziel was stopped by police in Avon, a suburb on Cleveland’s west side, after police said a domestic argument got out of hand between Manziel and his girlfriend, Colleen Elizabeth Crowley, a student at Texas Christian University. The police report said both Manziel and Crowley were drinking, but neither were charged.
The league reportedly hopes to have the investigation wrapped up by the end of the week, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
.@NFL hopes to have the investigation into Johnny Manziel’s roadside “incident” wrapped up, either way, by the end of the week, I’m told.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 28, 2015
The league can discipline Manziel under its personal conduct policy. Another option, according to USA Today, would be to put him on paid leave, which states that:
“An individual may be put on paid leave if formally charged with a violent crime or sexual assault, or if the NFL investigation finds sufficient credible evidence that it appears a violation of the (personal conduct) policy has occurred. Paid leave will last until the completion of the NFL investigation or disposition of a criminal charge.”
While that is obviously still an option, it seems as if it would be an extreme one for the NFL to drop on Manziel and the Browns, especially if the league investigators are satisfied with what the Avon police officers told them during their meetings.
Related: Ray Farmer: Browns can’t suspend Johnny Manziel
And with the pace that the NFL usually goes at with these investigations, there’s no telling how long a paid leave would last for a player who may ultimately be innocent.
According to Northeast Ohio Media Group, NFL investigators talked with members of the Avon Police Department last week to gain further insight into what transpired that day.
“They spent the early morning here and each individual officer involved in the incident went in and spoke to them,” Sgt. George Ruple told NEOMG. “They were just looking into the police report in full detail. They had copies of the full report, which are public records, as well as the video, and like I said, they were just investigating to see if there was any player conduct violations that the NFL holds their players accountable for.”
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Ruple also said that, no matter what the NFL ultimately decides, Avon police consider the case closed.
Manziel has said that he is willing to give the NFL whatever it needs.
“I’ll fully cooperate with anything they ask me, anything they need from me,” he said, according to NEOMG. “I’m not shying away from that. I cooperated fully with Avon, I cooperated fully with everybody in the Browns and anybody that’s asked me anything.”
With starting quarterback Josh McCown still recovering from the beating he took on Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Manziel took the first-team reps in practice on Wednesday.