Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Update: The NCAA and Texas A&M agreed upon the one half suspension given Manziel did inadvertently violate a rule (NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.) dealing with the authorized use of a name or picture to “advertise recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind or receive remuneration for endorsing a commercial product or service through the individual’s use of such product or service”.
What once seemed like a mountain apparently is turning out to not be much more than a molehill, as several sources are reporting the Texas A&M Aggies will only suspend returning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel for the first half of Saturday’s season opener against the Rice Owls.
Billy Liucci, a beat writer on the Aggies who resides in College Station was one of the first to tweet regarding it:
Latest on Manziel? Per multiple sources, he'll be suspended for first half of season-opener versus Rice on Saturday.
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) August 28, 2013
There’s still some question in the air whether the suspension actually was handed down directly from the NCAA to Texas A&M, but given its duration, it seems much more likely it was self-imposed by the Aggies and the NCAA didn’t uncover a whole lot of anything during their six-hour interrogation of the Heisman Trophy winner this past weekend.
If the punishment was indeed handed down by the NCAA, whatever they did uncover during their investigation and the interrogation of those surrounding the situation and of Manziel himself must not have uncovered much that would lead to a more severe penalty down the road.
In fact, it’s hard to understand what the point of suspending him at all would be– especially for one half of football in a game where he may only play for a half anyhow, given the opponent and the lopsided matchup — but you can always leave it up to the NCAA to do something non-sensical that seems bizarre to those on the outside looking in.
If A&M handed down the suspension it’s a de facto admission that he did something wrong, but also a sign the program is unwilling to deliver any type of internal punishment that would in any way affect the outcome of games that matter beyond the first two non-conference cupcakes.
As more details become clear on the nature — and driver — of the Manziel suspension we’ll make sure to keep you updated.
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Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports.
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