The only shred of good news regarding a recent social-media tirade from former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is that he has deleted it.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what happened. ESPN Cleveland recently posted a clip<\/a> of comments Manziel made in August 2025<\/a> on the Nightcap podcast. When the subject of his only NFL team came up, Manziel said this: \u201cI sit here today, and I go back and forth with, \u2018Man, am I gonna let Cleveland off the hook and just like let it go, or am I gonna sit here with hate and animosity in my heart for the rest of my life?\u2019 I finally sit here today, I\u2019m like, \u2018Fuck it. I think I\u2019m gonna be pissed at them and hate them forever.\u2019 . . . . It is what it is, man. No love for the Browns. I\u2019m rooting for 0-and-16 seasons every season.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland responded to Manziel on the air.<\/p>\n \u201cBro, what did . . . anyone do for you, except root for you to win<\/a>?\u201d Rizzo said. \u201cAnd when it went south, OK, that\u2019s how it goes, as [with] Baker [Mayfield]. But, but \u2014 did someone hurt him? Is he a jilted lover? Is there some \u2014 did I miss \u2014 was there an incident where somebody attacked him? . . . Why the hate? Why in the hate for the team that drafted you?\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Manziel teed off on Twitter, directing at Rizzo a four-letter word starting with \u201cc\u201d that rarely is used in the American lexicon. (In England, however, they throw that word around nonchalantly \u2014 while regarding \u201cwanker<\/a>\u201d as something akin to \u201cVoldemort<\/a>.\u201d) The full content of the tweet was quoted by<\/a> Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing.<\/p>\n Again, Manziel has deleted the tweet. Which is good. The deeper question, as Rizzo articulated, is why does Manziel hate the Browns? They ended his round-one free-fall in 2014. They gave him multiple chances to play in the NFL like he did at the college level.<\/p>\n The 10-month-old Nightcap appearance included an acknowledgment from Manziel that he had some responsibility for the outcome. \u201cBut when it comes down to it, you take all of that aside and you throw it away, you look in the mirror and you say, I let an amazing opportunity slip,\u201d Manziel said. \u201cIt\u2019s on me.\u201d<\/p>\n