Is there a bigger scumbag in sports than Johnny Manziel?

I say no.

Unless you have been living in a cave, you know about the drama surrounding Manziel. He signed thousands of autographs, “allegedly” for money, in clear violation of NCAA rules. His potential suspension has cast a pall over Texas A&M’s season prospects, and the reigning Heisman’s status has been a major issue in the sport since the story broke several weeks ago.

Manziel’s “punishment” is that he will have to sit for the first half of this week’s game against Rice. The Aggies are 28-point favorites in this game, and by sitting against the hapless Owls Manziel assures that he’ll be under center when A&M faces Alabama on Sept. 14.

The idea is that since Manziel was most likely paid in cash, there is no evidence of his crimes. You know, except for the 4,000 ITEMS HE AUTOGRAPHED. And if there is no paper trail of money – they have the statement of an aggrieved broker who made the initial claims – then apparently no evidence means no crime. Or something.

If you truly believe Manziel didn’t do anything wrong here and that this was all a figment of the media’s imagination then you are probably either A) a mouth-breathing fan of college football, Texas A&M or the SEC and/or B) too dumb to live. Either way, please don’t breed.

Manziel is a rich prick. That is all. He is a spoiled, bratty little rich kid. And his parents did what all parents of spoiled, bratty little rich pricks do when their spoiled, bratty little rich pricks get in trouble: they hired the most expensive lawyer they could find to get Little Johnny out of trouble.

Deadpsin’s Drew Magary summed up the situation in College Station pretty well:

“Football Bieber. … Before Johnny Football arrived, A&M was just a boot camp for ugly people and aspiring arsonists. Now it's home to a sniveling, whiny, alcoholic redneck brat who deserves to have his name dragged through the mud. Five years from now, Johnny Football will be run out of the NFL and will be pissing in buckets and spitting on roadies backstage at Keith Urban concerts. He's a jackass.”

Yes.

Because this kid has money and because he generates so much money for everyone – the school, to the NCAA, the media companies that cover him – he can be as big of a dick as he wants without repercussions. He won’t be held accountable. Hell, no one will even feign that he be held accountable. Aside from some minor backlash, I have not heard a single ESPN college football commentator (sidebar: is there a bigger collection of douchebags in the media?) go beyond speculating about Manziel’s status. I didn’t hear anyone clamoring for him to be held culpable, even though most of these same bobbleheads practically had the pitchforks out for Terrelle Pryor just two short years ago.

Nope. “Just let Little Johnny play,” was the pretty much the default position of the Overwhelming Majority over the past month. They wanted a speedy resolution. They wanted Manziel to be able to play. And they wanted to pretend like this whole thing never happened. Done and done.

That fact that this little shit completely gamed the system and got away with it when USC and Ohio State’s programs were blown up for much less is ridiculous, but it’s not the most annoying thing about the Manziel mess. My biggest issue is with the narrative this story has been twisted into: should college athletes be allowed to make money while in school?

That has become the focus of this story. Somehow over the last month this rich clown has become the poster boy for NCAA oppression. Bizarre. This groundswell of support for the athletes rose from people that find it a tragedy that college football athletes aren’t allowed to profit from their efforts while the NCAA and its universities make millions. This isn’t an old discussion. But it certainly got louder over the past several weeks.

That’s fine, and I don’t disagree with the premise. I do feel it whitewashes a lot of the benefits and advantages that college athletes do enjoy. But I’m OK if the discussion is one about fair compensation for contributions to the multibillion-dollar business of college football. My problem is that the same people railing the NCAA for not giving the players a share of the pie turn a blind eye to the same types of compensation disparity elsewhere in society. And I don’t understand how the conversation can be so impassioned about college football and totally ignored in the real world.

This story is annoying because it is a perversion of justice. It represents the win-at-all-cost mentality that is so prevalent in society these days and reaffirms a founding principle in this country: if you are rich and white in this country you can pretty much do whatever you want. But worst of all it epitomizes the ignorance and hypocrisy of “the folks” and exemplifies the stunning disconnect between people’s passion and perspective for sports compared to their passion and perspective toward things that actually matter.  

Just another reminder of what a colossal shit-show college football is.

Let the games begin.

Robert Ferringo is a lead writer for Doc’s Sports and a member of the Football Writer’s Association of American. He has earned over $10,000 in profit for his clients over the last 16 football months. He went 7-2 last week with his NFL preseason selections and this week, for the first time ever, Robert will release selections from his incredible KING College Football Betting System. (Learn more HERE.) We are so confident that you will be amazed by this moneymaking system we are going to give you a free, no-strings-attached $60 credit to use toward a purchase of Robert’s football selections. CLICK HERE for $60 absolutely free!

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