Can we all agree to agree that Johnny Manziel is the saddest story a sport has seen for some time? If not, then you are ignoring one of the most important concepts of these games we all know and love; these people are just like you and me.

Why shouldn’t we sympathize with this list of transgressions? 

Is it because he flaunts what he has and parties his face off? Would you not do the same in his position? 

Is it because he was born with the so-called, silver spoon in his mouth? Did you have an opportunity, pre-birth, to decide whom your parents were?

To me, all of this shows how insecure this guy is in his own skin; how confused he is when the idea of “being a man” comes up; how much trouble he is having prioritizing his life and keeping things in perspective. 

But, why? 

The answer could only be one of two things; either he has a terrible relationship with his parents, or he is just like them. Socialization has taught us this. 

No matter how much we wish to ignore it, all of us are just like who we were raised by, no matter how much pain the hatred of that fact may cause.

For Johnny, this seems to be an area of great confliction. He is lost, trapped in a haze of indecision, searching for the right way to do the wrong thing instead of simply doing what is right.

Still, while he is flushing his career down the drain I consider a number of facets to this argument. The biggest issue being that we all care too much; if the kid can play football at a high level 6 hours after finishing a bathtub full of champagne who are we to stop him? 

Lenny the cool and Namath were taking shots on the sideline folks.

Listen, the fact of the matter is, this kid needs help, and, honestly how could this be more obvious? He is throwing away the American dream in such dramatic fashion that nearly everyone at he knows is crawling out of the woodwork to air his dirty laundry. Johnny, the time to admit a problem has passed; now the severity of the situation has reached a boiling point, and something has to give.

Be careful, or it could be everything you have grown to know and love.