ESPN First Take host Skip Bayless lambasted Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel as an "alcoholic" and a "liar" on Monday's show.
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"He has a problem," Bayless said to the show's co-host Stephen A. Smith. "If you want to call him an alcoholic I'll go that far. I think he can't handle his alcohol."
Bayless' criticism comes in the wake of a Sunday report from CBS Sports that Manziel had thrown a party Friday night that was attended by multiple Cleveland Browns teammates, wide receiver Josh Gordon included.
Gordon and Manziel were both absent from mandatory team walk-throughs on the following Saturday morning. Gordon was suspended for the team's Week 17 game versus Baltimore. Manziel wasn't suspended, but only because his season is already over due to a hamstring injury that landed him on the injured reserve list.
The CBS Sports report further stated that the Browns even had to send team security to Manziel's home on Saturday to confirm his whereabouts. Manziel's partying came just days after the former Heisman winner told the media he intended to take his job "more seriously" moving forward than he had in his rookie.
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Still, even given Manziel's questionable antics, Bayless' contention that he is a liar and an alcoholic is probably a bridge too far. Bayless' colleague Bill Simmons was famously suspended by ESPN this year for calling Roger Goodell a liar without the necessary corresponding evidence. Moreover, true alcoholism is a pernicious disease that's not to be trivialized; using that to label Manziel's behavior (no matter how unprofessional or immature it may be) does a disservice to those who actually grapple with that stigma each and every day.
Watch Bayless' remarks below:
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