Johnny Manziel lawyer withdraws after text mixup; no guilty plea

After mistakenly texting the Associated Press with confidential information about Johnny Manziel, one of Manziel’s attorneys has withdrawn from representing him, according to Manziel’s spokeswoman.

Bob Hinton had sent the AP a long text message on Friday — which he said later was meant for another attorney — that appeared to be a precursor to a plea bargain in Manziel’s domestic violence assault case in Texas. Hinton expressed concern about Manziel’s ability to stay clean in the text.

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Now Hinton, who was an associate counsel in the Manziel case, is no longer repping the former Cleveland Browns quarterback, who was released this offseason after a slew of incidents.

A dark cloud appears to be following Manziel now after a long line of self-inflicted incidents, and his own father expressed serious concern about his son’s welfare, suggesting that jail might be his best option to get clean.

Manziel’s lead attorney, Jim Darnell, said via the spokeswoman that Manziel will not plead guilty and that nothing related to Hinton’s incident has changed anything in the case.

Manziel’s entire situation has gone from bad to worse, and it seems that no one knows how he can get help or how it will end. Right now, it’s not looking promising on any front.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm