Lawrence Taylor Comments on Johnny Manziel After Indictment

Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who was known nearly as much for his off-field behavior as his brilliance between the sidelines, offered perspective on troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel in an interview with TMZ Sports on Tuesday. 

"It's not the 1980s. It's not the early 1990s. You cannot do what you want to do in the NFL anymore," Taylor said.

Manziel, 23, was officially indicted on misdemeanor assault charges by a Dallas grand jury on Tuesday, per Jill Martin of CNN. He's charged with hitting his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, during a January argument. 

The Cleveland Browns released Manziel in March amid a multitude of off-field incidents, which included the assault investigation and substance abuse issues. Agent Drew Rosenhaus dropped Manziel as a client on April 15 after the former Heisman Trophy winner refused to get treatment. 

"So many people only have one image of Jonathan, but believe it or not, he takes all this very seriously," Manziel's spokesperson, Denise Michels, told ESPN.com. "He's hoping that he can clear up his personal issues, start interviewing agents and see what he needs to do if he wants to play this year."

Taylor, who failed multiple drug tests during his NFL career and was open about his partying ways, said the environment is far different than when he played. 

"With social media and all that stuff man, listen ... Man, back in our day, if you didn't hear it on Monday, motherf--ker you free! You free!" Taylor said. "You ain't gotta worry about it if you don't hear about it on Monday because listen, when I would do some s--t. ... I'm just trying to get through Monday!" 

Taylor was a user of cocaine during the 1980s and had a severe drinking habit. He went through multiple stints in rehab after his post-playing days, though, at the time, he said he believed his lifestyle helped him on Sundays.

"For me, crazy as it seems, there is a real relationship between wild, reckless abandon off the field and being that way on the field," Taylor said in 1987. 

Even after all of his issues, which have included a number of arrests and time spent in jail and on house arrest, Taylor did not sound like someone imploring Manziel to get himself clean.

"Listen, at the end of the day, you do what you gotta do to make what you gotta make to do what you wanna do. So listen, after that...f--k it."

Manziel is currently without an NFL team and no longer has representation. He's also been dropped by multiple sponsors and will likely face a personal conduct suspension from the NFL regardless of how his assault case pans out.

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