Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel's battle with depression is well-documented, and he opened up in a conversation with Shannon Sharpe about how LeBron James tried to be there for him while he was in Cleveland at the same point in time playing for the Cavaliers.
“And I remember, this is how bad off I was whenever I was in Cleveland, LeBron would text me every week to come over to the house and watch a game or play poker with the boys and just tried to be there, and I was so depressed for the first time in my life that even my biggest role model and inspiration in my life couldn't get me out of bed to come and hang out with him,” Johnny Manziel said to Shannon Sharpe. “When I went to the Cavs games I went. I was in, I was out. I didn't really grasp and latch on to him in a way that I should have. And he tries to take me under his wing, and I'm just kind of nudging it away because of where my mental is and being just fully depressed, and where I was in my life. Is that an excuse? Absolutely not, because at the end of the day, the respect that I should have for them, giving me everything, should trump all else.”
"LeBron James would text me every week to come over and watch a game or play poker with the boys… I was so depressed that even the biggest role model in my life couldn't get me out of bed to hang out with him."
— Johnny Manziel
(via @ClubShayShay)pic.twitter.com/i7LqlFtdpg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 21, 2024
Manziel's revelation is telling about where he was mentally during his NFL career with the Browns. His story is another example that professional athletes can have great struggles with mental health, despite some believing that might not be the case.
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