Johnny Manziel might want to add a fact checker to his entourage. His statement to TMZ Sports over the weekend that he was living with Von Miller got the sports world – especially those of us in Denver – worked up into quite the tizzy. And is apparently totally wrong.
“I’m living out here with my guy, Von Miller. Everybody knows Von Miller. Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller, my brother. I’m living with him right now,” Manziel said in a video from Saturday night.
Turns out, Manziel is actually living with another NFL player – not the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Miller did throw his continued support behind the troubled former Aggie as he confirmed that he and Johnny Football are not under the same roof.
According to ESPN, Manziel (who was cut from the Browns this offseason due in part to substance abuse issues) is actually living in Los Angeles (where Miller is currently living while taping Dancing with the Stars) with another talented but troubled football player, Josh Gordon.
Gordon was suspended from the Browns by the league in 2015 for violating the drug policy and is awaiting a decision for reinstatement by commissioner Roger Goodell. Things don’t look good in that department, as additional news broke Monday that Gordon has recently failed another drug test.
In the TMZ videos, Manziel appeared to be inebriated, perhaps contributing to his confusion about his current living situation.
Miller’s support for his fellow Texas A&M Aggie is great in principle, but if Monday’s reports are true about Manziel’s real roommate, it could be hard for any NFL executive to give him another shot in the league.
Kudos to Miller, though, for dropping a Step Brothers reference to diffuse what has to be a distracting situation. It’s just another sign the dude is a class act all the way.