Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel's downward spiral has a lot of people concerned. His father is worried for his son's life and so is one of Manziel's oldest friends.
Nate Fitch, a friend of Manziel's since their middle school days in Tyler, recently went on The Ben & Skin Show on 105.3 FM The Fan in an attempt to get Manziel to seek the treatment that Fitch believes the former Heisman winner needs with substance abuse issues.
Fitch, who was practically inseparable from Manziel at Texas A&M, admitted on the show that he shares Paul Manziel's concerns for Johnny's life.
"The path that he is on is not one that really gets better by itself. And unless something happens, somebody intervenes, somebody close to him is able to get through to him -- whoever is that person, whether it's me, a stranger out there or somebody of influence, it has to be done with love and compassion," Fitch said. "You cannot shame somebody in his position into seeing what is going on. You just have to love them through it and meet them where they're at. If somebody's able to do that, then he'll find a way out.
"And I have faith that Johnny will find his way out. I've seen him on the field and off the field work his way out of some really slippery situations. I want to tell you that in no way, shape or form do I think that he is going to be a failure or a bust. He is going to be a tremendous success in the NFL. He's going through a rough patch, just like anybody else. The only difference is it's publicized by everybody and their mother."
Fitch no longer runs in Manziel's posse and has not been with the former Cleveland Browns quarterback recently. He does still talk with Manziel, including a conversation last week.
And though Manziel, who checked himself into rehab last year, has shown no effort to get help of late, Fitch believes there is still a chance to save his friend.
"There's always a chance and that's why I'm continuing knocking on that door. If Johnny's mad at me for doing this, if he's frustrated or annoyed at my calls or texts, I don't care. I love Johnny and I care about him deeply as a brother and as a best friend," Fitch said, "and if there's anything I can do to interrupt what he's doing right now and just to give him a five-second window just to look at reality, I'll do that. I think that's why I'm here."
But Fitch recognizes that he does not have to be the one to save Manziel personally. He knows the Manziel family will do everything to help their son and also thinks that agent Drew Rosenhaus -- who fired Manziel after he did not seek treatment for his addiction problems -- made the right decision to help the quarterback.
"Johnny's family loves him and they're very supportive and they're good people and they can reach him. I want to applaud Drew Rosenhaus for what he just did. He held Johnny accountable. He did not turn into a yes man. He did the right thing and one day it'll come back around to him. I would applaud that. You cannot enable him. Enabling is the wrong way to go. And I've been in that position before. That's why I'm here right now."
Before the recent spiral, there was a lot of speculation about the Cowboys and Manziel possibly coming to an agreement on a contract.
Though that possibility is out of the question for now, Fitch revealed in the interview what the idea of playing for the Cowboys means to Manziel.
"It's his dream. That is his dream -- ending up with the star. That's his dream. I think it still is. I think it can still happen," Fitch declared. "All he's got to do is face the music a little bit, get through some of these hard times, own up to some of his actions, get clean, start working out again, this time next year he's the man again, big man on campus. I think Jerry will hear that. I think Jerry will see that if Johnny makes an effort and really tries. I think I can help him do that. I think Jerry Jones is the No. 1 guy who can help someone like Johnny. I got faith that something like that's going to happen."