During the Mavs/Heat game Thursday night on TNT, cameras caught Texas A&M quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel sitting court side. Obviously court side tickets aren’t cheap, especially for a college who seemingly doesn’t have a full time job which prompted some questions from Steve Kerr as to how Manziel could afford the tickets.
Kerr’s question later prompted TNT to devote over a minute of in game broadcast where Craig Sager tried to explain Kerr’s question.
“We are in a 30 point game, time to clarify what could be a sticky situation. Johnny Manziel’s phone is getting inundated by text messages and tweets from friends and people wondering about a comment made by Steve Kerr about how he got these seats. Well, everything is legit. This is a birthday present that he bought for himself back on December 6th. He’s a huge basketball fan. He loves LeBron James, has never seen him in person. So he has a birthday present that he purchased the ticket to come to the game, get the best seats he could possibly buy, and he is here to watch LeBron James, he practiced today in College Station getting ready for the Cotton Bowl, two and a half hour drive, he will be back at practice tomorrow, everything is legit.”
Kerr responded citing sarcasm in what he said.
“Is sarcasm not understood by folks on Twitter, or it just went right by people I guess? Just trying to have a little fun.”
So was it actually a birthday present or a gift from some Texas A&M boosters? Who knows and quite frankly who cares. To think that a player of Manziel’s caliber isn’t getting benefits is totally asinine. These players are put on pedestal by the media and the very organization that gives them an outlet to play that it would be surprising if they didn’t get some sort of extra benefit on the side. Not to mention the NCAA’s policy towards college players isn’t only nonsensical but totally hypocritical in today’s day and age of glorified pro and amateur athletes.
h/t: TNT
