Showing posts with label Heisman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heisman. Show all posts

Friday, July 19, 2013

Why I'm Letting Johnny Manziel Be: Because He's 20


I don't care much about the moral handwringing over Johnny Manziel, the current prince of Texas enjoying his football fame. The same way I didn't care about what my friends did when I was in college as long as they were having fun, living it up and not hurting anybody.

Manziel's 20 years old. I'm still not that far removed from college to know how 20 year old kids act. Heisman or not, he's still growing up in front of us and you can't place adult expectations on a college kid. Those who say the Heisman means you flip a switch and carry yourself with grace and professionalism obviously put too much faith in a statue.

Whatever happened at the Manning Academy was unfortunate. Hat tip to the folks at RumorsAndRants getting more info on this story and to Manziel's credit, he owned up to his mistakes. Part of growing up means you screw up, let people down and learn how to handle it/do better later.

But for me, I don't have a problem with Manziel being himself long as it doesn't involve letting others down when it counts (and I don't mean on the field). Why should he be held to a higher standard? Because he's a better football player than most? Just because you're a star doesn't mean you should be Mr. Perfect or Mr. "Wholesome All-American" and clinging to that myth says more about you than him.