Don’t tell Johnny Maziel that you love him and then try to give him a hug — unless you want to get punched in the face.
That’s what Cleveland Browns fan Chris Gonos claims happened to him early Sunday morning at The 9, a high-end apartment complex in Cleveland.
Gonos allegedly recognized Manziel while waiting to get on the apartment elevator, the Cleveland Scene reports. Gonos then approached Manziel and said “I’m the biggest Browns fan ever, I love you, I want to give you a hug.”
Bad move.
Next thing he knows, Gonos is punched in the face by a member of Maziel’s “entourage,” leaving him with a “swollen lip, right eye swollen, red face.” This then started a brawl involving 20 men and two security guards within the apartment lobby. The report states that one of the security guards was also injured during the incident.
Gonos claimed that Maziel punched his brother in the face after he was pulled apart from the initial hit, according to statements provided to Cleveland Scene.
“I got a bruised hip and a bruised elbow, and somebody hit me in the back of the head, too. My brother saw what was going on and he ran he tackled Johnny Manziel — I guess he got the sack and the fumble. He tackled him, yeah, I’m talking about he speared him all the way to the back wall. I was cornered; I was by myself and Johnny Manziel and like three or four of his buddies were all coming at me. (My brother) just came to help me out, and I guess Johnny sucker punched him while the security guard was holding him. It should be all on video.”
Browns general manager Ray Farmer made a statement regarding the allegations:
“We are aware of the incident and are in the process of gathering additional information in order to gain a complete understanding of what occurred. Nonetheless, the time of the incident is concerning to us. We continually stress to all of our players the importance of sound decision making in an effort to avoid putting themselves in these types of situations. We have addressed this appropriately with the player and will have no further comment at this time.”
I guess we will have to wait and see if a video emerges, but until then, never express your emotions to Johnny Football.