Johnny Manziel’s father says jail ‘best place’ for his son

Johnny Manziel’s entire off-field life, from Texas A&M until now — when he has virtually no chance at getting back in the NFL — has played out in an intensely public manner.

In a normal world, an athlete’s father sharing his pessimistic and dark feelings about his son’s future through the media would be very odd, but Manziel hasn’t lived a normal life since he burst on the scene as a redshirt freshman in college and won a Heisman Trophy.

So on the heels of a story that Manziel’s lawyer accidentally texted the Associated Press with his concerns that Manziel could stay clean as an apparent part of a plea bargain in his domestic violence assault case, Manziel’s father again had some startling words about his son.

“He’s a druggie,” Paul Manziel told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “It’s not a secret that he’s a druggie. I don’t know what to say other than my son is a druggie and he needs help. He just hasn’t seeked it yet. Hopefully he doesn’t die before he comes to his senses. That’s about all you can say. I don’t know what else to say. I hate to say it but I hope he goes to jail. I mean, that would be the best place for him. So we’ll see.”

It seems like a desperate plea for anyone to get help for his son, who he clearly can’t get through to in any other way. Paul Manziel shockingly said earlier this year that he doesn’t know if his son will see his 24th birthday. Manziel turns 24 in December.

There have been numerous public messages from soon-to-be former agents, ex-teammates, friends and family begging Manziel to make changes in his life. It’s pretty clear nothing is working yet.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab