Browns coach Mike Pettine plans to meet with quarterback Johnny Manziel to discuss yet another party video of him — this time from Christmas Eve — that has gone viral.
Pettine — who earlier this season promised that "repercussions would be harsh" if Manziel messed up again — said in a conference call Monday only that he was aware of the video but hadn't seen it yet, adding that he wasn't prepared to bench Manziel, the's team's starter, for the regular-season finale Sunday against the Steelers.
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“Anytime there’s something with our players that casts them potentially in a bad light, whether it’s Johnny or any of our other guys, it’s certainly a concern," Pettine said. "I’m sure I’ll see it and have a discussion with him about it. These circumstances are different from the incident that occurred before, but I’m just not going to go into a ton of detail with it until I get a little bit more information about it. It’s something that I’m sure privately we’ll discuss, if it needs to be discussed.”
The second-year quarterback, who spent much of the offseason in rehab for an undisclosed reason, has a beverage in his hand but isn't seen drinking it in the video.
Still, Pettine, who said he didn't know if he'll be retained as coach as the Browns limp to the finish of a 3-12 season, didn't seem inclined to bench Manziel for the second time this year.
“Again, it falls back into not micromanaging personal lives," said Pettine. "It is very public, unfortunately. The thing that is disappointing is how public it becomes.
"We are going to sit down with (all players) before they get out of here and see where they are personally and professionally, and certainly, Johnny will be no exception.”
The video, which first appeared on Busted Coverage, shows Manziel singing along to "March Madness" by Future, dancing and holding what appears to be a black cherry Four Loko — an alcoholic beverage. The video appears to have been taken in a private residence that has a Buccaneers jersey of Mike Evans, Manziel's teammate Texas A&M, hanging on the wall behind Manziel.
A video of Manziel singing the same song in Austin, Texas, during the Browns' bye week appeared in November, and he lost the starting quarterback job when when he lied to Browns coaches about when it happened. When Manziel later was reinstated as the starter, Pettine stopped short of saying he would have zero tolerance but vowed to hold Manziel to a high standard.
