Former Cleveland Browns Quarterback Johnn Manziel is very excited about the return of the XFL, as indicated by a recent tweet.
Shortly after WWE chairman Vince McMahon announced plans to reboot the football league, Manziel tweeted out, “#XFL2020” and tagged McMahon in the message.
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This seems to indicate that the current NFL free agent is interested in lacing up his cleats and taking the field for some XFL games.
However, there could potentially be a slight issue with that.
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) January 25, 2018
The problem with Manziel playing is that he has a troubled past and McMahon clearly laid out that the XFL will be seeking players without “any form of criminality associated with them whatsoever.”
Back in 2012, prior to becoming Texas A&M’s starting quarterback, and even before playing his first college football game, Manziel wound up in handcuffs.
He wound up in a late night fight and was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, failure to produce identification, and possession of a fictitious driver’s license.
After pleading guilty to the possession of a fictitious driver’s license charge all the others against him were dropped.
That incident, as well as other controversial off-the-field behavior, wasn’t enough to keep him from being drafted into the NFL, but it has continued to be a major part of his public persona.
It’s not impossible, or even improbable, that McMahon could allow him to play in the XFL, as his name alone could generate hype.
Welcome back, Johnny. The sports world misses and needs you.
— lebron forever (@Vintage_LeBron) January 25, 2018
The new XFL relaunch has been met with mixed reactions, as evident by the conversations taking place about it on Twitter.
Some taken issue with what they see as noticeable political overtones in the structure of the new XFL.
“Loved the original XFL. In part because it allowed players more freedom of expression. This version starts off limiting freedom of expression. It feels like an extremist right wing version of the original,” tweeted Mike Freeman, and NFL columnist.
Others feel like some of the rules that McMahon laid out for the league are somewhat excessive.
“Well that was something else. But I think my favorite part was Vince McMahon, the man who produces a 3+ hour show every Monday, calling 3 hour NFL games ‘laborious.’ He’s out of his mind,” one person said.
The world still has two more years to wait, since the XFL is not scheduled to launch until 2020, so there’s plenty of developments on the horizon.
