Troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel needs immediate help to save his self-destructive life, his father told the Dallas Morning News.
"I truly believe if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday," Paul Manziel said on Friday, days after his son was investigated for an alleged assault on his ex-girlfriend in Fort Worth, Texas.
Manziel, 23, has twice refused to enter a substance abuse program in the past week, his father said.
With Manziel reeling and his future with the Cleveland Browns in doubt, his agent Erik Burkhardt announced on Friday that he'd no longer represent the Heisman Trophy winner.
The latest episode began Jan. 30, when Manziel's ex-girlfriend told police that he had hit her several times during an argument that began in his Dallas hotel room and continued as he drove them to her home in Fort Worth.
The ex-girlfriend told police that Manziel acted as if he were on drugs. He's previously stayed in a rehab center treating addiction to alcohol and drugs. Police in Fort Worth and Dallas have declined to arrest Manziel.
Television station WFAA, citing unnamed sources, reported that his ex-girlfriend said Manziel expressed suicidal thoughts during their argument and threatened her by saying, "Shut up or I'll kill us both."
Manziel's father told the Dallas Morning News that his family tried to get him to check into a rehab facility on Saturday, the day after the fight, and again on Tuesday. Both times, Manziel refused to stay, the newspaper reported.
ESPN has reported that the Browns will release Manziel in March.
Also on HuffPost:
