Andy Staples on Johnny Manziel’s celebrity and future
Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples joined guest host Chris Mannix to talk about his cover story on Johnny Manziel.
Staples said that Manziel talked to him because he get bugging him. He said Manziel isn’t trying to get a particular message out.
“I don’t think he cares what the narrative is,” Staples said. “He wants to be himself and do the things 20-year-old college kids do.”
Staples said that Manziel faces a different kind of scrutiny. “It’s beyond athlete celebrity. It’s celebrity-celebrity. … He knows he has to deal with it. He just doesn’t have to like it.
Staples said that Manziel also likes some aspects of the celebrity. Like getting to hang out with his hero Drake in Toronto.
Staples said Manziel has done the research on the NFL. He said at one point he thought he knew where he’d go in the NFL, but he saw last year’s draft and rethought that.