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Johnny Football has been involved in very little on the field this evening. Brynn Anderson/AP/Press Association Images
hug it out

Johnny Football in hot water after alleged fight with fan who tried to hug him

The colourful quarterback was fined for making an obscene gesture in pre-season.

Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Johnny Manziel was in the middle of an early morning fight Saturday involving his entourage and a fan who sought to hug the NFL rookie.

Cleveland Scene’s website claimed Monday that a police report said authorities were called to a brawl that erupted around the incident involving 20 men and two security guards at The 9, a high-end apartment complex in Cleveland where many professional athletes live.

Chris Gonos, the alleged victim in the incident, said the brawl began when he noticed Manziel while waiting for an elevator.

According to the report, “at this time the victim stated to the unidentified male, ‘I’m the biggest Browns fan ever, I love you, I want to give you a hug’.”

As Gonos stepped toward Manziel, he was punched in the face and beaten by other men with the Browns quarterback, leaving Gonos with a swollen lip and swollen right eye.

“One of his buddies like tackled me,” Gonos told the website. “It was going down, a whole bunch of people started fighting. It ended pretty quick. I got a bruised hip and a bruised elbow and somebody hit me in the back of the head.”

Gonos said no-one was arrested but his brother “tackled” Manziel and added, “I guess Johnny sucker-punched him while the security guard was holding him. It should be all on video.

“I know somebody else in the group smashed Johnny right in the face. Smashed him.”

Browns general manager Ray Farmer said in a statement the team is looking into the matter.

“We are aware of the incident and are in the process of gathering additional information in order to gain a complete understanding of what occurred,” Farmer said.

“Nonetheless, the time of the incident is concerning to us. We continually stress to all of our players the importance of sound decision-making in an effort to avoid putting themselves in these types of situations. We have addressed this appropriately with the player and will have no further comment at this time.”

The Browns played Sunday in Atlanta, winning on a field goal with the final play of the game.

Manziel, a first-round choice in last May’s NFL Draft, was fined by the NFL for making an obscene gesture in a pre-season loss to Washington.

- © AFP, 2014

When rabonas go bad: The NFL edition

This one-handed catch by Odell Beckham Jr is absolutely ridiculous

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