Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel went on an expletive-laced, homophobic rant against longtime Cleveland sports radio host Tom Rizzo.
This week, Rizzo, 64, resurfaced an appearance Manziel, 33, made on Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson’s “Nightcap” Podcast last year, in which the former Cleveland Browns quarterback said he actively roots against the franchise every year.
“Rizz, you stupid c**t,” Manziel wrote in a since-deleted post via X on Wednesday, July 1. “These comments were made in October of last year, but, of course, you bored homos in the Cleveland media have nothing to speak about because your quarterback stopped banging massage therapists and you can only speak about losing so much to all of the people that listen to this trash ass show.”
Manziel referred to Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was accused of sexual assault by multiple massage therapists in 2021. A grand jury declined to press charges against Watson, 30, in March 2022, though he was still served with an 11-game suspension by the NFL.
As of February of this year, all of the 27 civil lawsuits against Watson had been dismissed.
“My tenure in Cleveland was doomed by a lot more people than just me,” Manziel continued his post. “I’ve taken plenty of responsibility for my failures in that building and in that city.”
Manziel was selected by the Browns with the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. His career was ultimately doomed, starting just eight games over two seasons before leaving the NFL entirely.
“Tom Brady couldn’t have won with our roster from 2015,” Manziel added. “Just move on, f*** off and leave me out of this bulls***.”
Rizzo called out Manziel’s Browns’ slander on ESPN Radio’s The Tony Rizzo Show on Monday, June 29.
“What did anyone do [to] you except root for you to win?,” he asked. “And when it went south, OK that’s how it goes.”
Rizzo added, “Did someone hurt him? Is he a jilted lover? Was there an incident where someone attacked him? Why the hate? Why the hate for the team that drafted you?”
Cohost Chris Oldach argued that Manziel might feel like the Browns “didn’t put him in a good position to win or build the team around him.”
“But also, he’s the guy who didn’t put in any work while he was here,” Oldach claimed. “He was the guy that would leave after a Monday practice to go party.”
