DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel made a brief court appearance Tuesday morning in Dallas because of failure to tell a judge what steps he was taking toward a dismissal agreement signed in late November of last year.
Manziel is supposed to attend rehab and anger management, and in return a misdemeanor assault charge against him will be dropped. A judge told him he was concerned by Manziel not letting the court know what programs he signed up for, and that Manziel wasn’t taking it seriously.
“It doesn’t give me reassurance when someone in your position doesn’t meet the deadline on terms,” judge Roberto Canas said to Manziel in court Tuesday.
Canas reiterated that he didn’t want Manziel “wasting my time, wasting your time, or wasting your lawyer’s time,” and that Manziel is in a unique position being able to control his life as opposed to letting his fate lie in the hands of a jury in a trial.
The former Aggie and Cleveland Brown told the judge he realized he needed to take it seriously, and that he is taking it seriously.
“I need to get my life in order,” Manziel said. “These things I need to do.”
Manziel said things are “going smoothly” in terms of signing up for the necessary steps to have his assault charge dropped. There was initial confusion from the court because Canas was under the impression Manziel would be enrolling in the NFL’s substance abuse program.
But that wasn’t the case.
“Being involved with them was a slippery thing for me,” Manziel said, adding that he didn’t trust the way the NFL’s process worked.
Manziel and his attorney both declined comment after the hearing, with Manziel’s only words being “I want to play football,” with a thank you to his fans for sticking by him.
Canas’ parting words to Manziel upon adjourning the hearing were ones of hope for a former football star trying to get his life in order.
“I hope the next time you’re in court is when you sign the dismissal papers,” Canas said to Manziel.
