Cleveland Browns coach on Johnny Manziel: ‘that behavior will not be tolerated’

Credit: Tony Dejak

Credit: Tony Dejak

New Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson surprisingly was at the podium for more than 10 of his allotted minutes before he heard the first questions about the team’s most controversial players, quarterback Johnny Manziel and wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Jackson laughed and said he knew the Manziel question was coming and that he is standing by the statement the team issued a couple of weeks ago.

“Let me say this about that,” Jackson began. “I knew that question was coming. We made the statement two weeks ago about Johnny Manziel and I’m going to stand by that. I think his future on our team will be addressed here pretty soon. Let me say this, obviously there were some people involved in this situation that happened, and I feel very bad about those things. But I want to make sure we all understand that that behavior will not be tolerated as we move forward. Our organization is going to take a stand, and we’re going to move on from those kind of situations.”

On the topic of Gordon, who has been suspended three times for substance abuse, including all 16 games in 2015, Jackson said the organization has received no word from the league regarding his reinstatement.

Asked if he would welcome Gordon back if he is reinstated, Jackson said, “It’s like any other player. I think I would go through the process of spending time with him and seeing if he’s the right fit for us. Obviously he’s a very talented individual, but at the same time he’s got to fit right for us as we move forward.”

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