For those weary of all of this Johnny Manziel stuff, brace yourselves. It’s not going away for quite a while. Quite a long, long, long while, apparently.
Following up on a statement from Texas A&M’s athletic director that all football personnel would be “refraining from commenting on or answering questions regarding the status of our starting quarterback,” there’s news that the NCAA is digging in its “investigative” heels when it comes to the accusations against Johnny Football.
Specifically, Travis Haney of ESPN.com is reporting, Manziel sat down with the NCAA for six hours Sunday to discuss, presumably, the allegations that the reigning Heisman winner accepted money in exchange for autographs. Doing so would violate current NCAA bylaws and, if proven to whatever standard The Association has, would put Manziel’s eligibility for the 2013 season in significant jeopardy.
It should also be noted that, last week, Texas A&M boosters reportedly paid upwards of $20,000 to sit at a table with Manziel at a school-sponsored function. Unlike Manziel profiting off his profile, A&M profiting off Manziel’s profile is currently acceptable according to NCAA standards.
As far as the latest development with Manziel is concerned, Haney writes that "[i]t was unclear whether the NCAA was satisfied with the initial meeting with Manziel or if it would require additional time with the redshirt sophomore.”
Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com reported that, as would be expected, Manziel denied to NCAA investigators that he had accepted impermissible benefits related to the autographs.
It has previously been reported that A&M has “no plans” to sit Manziel in the midst of the latest instance of the NCAA tripping over itself.