Johnny Manziel harassed by fan at pool

Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel threw a water bottle at a badgering fan Saturday at the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in an incident that was dismissed as "fairly straightforward" by a police spokesman in Irving, Texas.

Irving public information officer James McLellan told ESPN on Sunday that no charges were filed, and there was no evidence that Manziel was "intoxicated or even had been drinking."

A Browns source also dismissed the incident as a nonstory, telling ESPN that Manziel should not be held responsible for obnoxious fans who approach him aggressively.

The incident took place in the pool area at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is part of the golf course property, McLellan said.

"There was a kid -- I'll call him a kid, he was 18 -- at the pool area," McLellan told ESPN on Sunday. "The kid had been asking [Manziel] for a couple hours for his autograph, and he wouldn't give it to him.

"That turned into badgering on the kid's part, and it reached the point where Johnny Manziel threw a bottle of water at the kid. I don't know if it hit him. I guess I would say that ramped it up a bit."

McLellan said the 32-ounce water bottle Manziel threw was about three-quarters full. A witness told police that the bottle hit a brick wall.

A friend of Manziel's then stepped between him and the 18-year-old and pushed him.

"That's about the time hotel security and our officers stepped in," McLellan said. "Try to put a stop to it."

A close friend of Manziel's who was one of eight people with his group told ESPN that the quarterback became frustrated when a picture-seeking fan in a Texas A&M polo consistently heckled and grabbed the quarterback's arm in the course area.

As Manziel left the golf course, the fan yelled, "Good luck never starting in the NFL," the friend said. Manziel said "What?" and threw the bottle, which the friend claimed was empty, toward the ground as his friends told him to ignore the heckler.

The fan was about 20 yards away and Manziel threw the bottle in the fan's direction but not close to his body and more like a football spike, said the friend, who remembered the fan yelling, "Good throw, Johnny."

Police were in the area and asked Manziel's camp some questions about what had happened, the friend said. "There was no malicious intent. We separated the situation," said the friend, who spoke with the cops along with Manziel. "We told the cops, 'Will you please make sure there's distance between us?'"

Manziel was polite to the fan the first 10 times he sought a picture, telling him he was with his girlfriend and friends he hadn't seen in a while, the friend said. He didn't want to take hundreds of pictures with fans.

Eventually, the fan grabbed Manziel from behind and Manziel asked, "'Can you please not do that? Just please leave me alone,'" the friend said.

Manziel was with friends who were waiting on an Uber ride outside of the golf course when they encountered the fan again. Among the fan's insults to Manziel, the friend said, was "Ryan Tannehillis way better than you."

McLellan explained that the police cooperate with the charities involved in the tournament, so they try to avoid arrests with drunk or disorderly fans.

McLellan said a friend of Manziel called a car, and he left.

"Ultimately the bottom line is, How are you getting out of here, it's time to go," McLellan said. "It ended and they left."

The 18-year-old declined to press charges for the shove, which could have been simple assault.

"That may result in a citation, a ticket, to someone," McLellan said. "But the fact the kid didn't want to press charges ... we were like, 'OK, time to go.'"

No police report was written on the incident.

The Browns said they would have no comment on the incident but said Manziel called the team Saturday night to explain what had happened.

Photos of Manziel speaking to Irving police began circulating on social media earlier Sunday, prompting the former Heisman Trophy winner's agent to tell Northeast Ohio Media Group that his client reacted appropriately to the heckler.

Erik Burkhardt, Manziel's agent, also told Northeast Ohio Media Group that he and Manziel, who has struggled with off-the-field issues since being drafted by the Browns last season, were attending church on Sunday morning.

The 22-year-old Manziel was released from a rehab treatment facility last month and apologized to the Browns organization and fans, vowing to "regain everyone's trust." He moved out of his downtown Cleveland apartment earlier this month and into a suburban golf community, a source told ESPN.

Manziel also had a run-in with a fan in November 2014 during a late-night altercation in downtown Cleveland. No arrests were made, and the fan ultimately apologized to Manziel in a Facebook post.

After the fan incidents in Cleveland and Texas, Manziel could consider hiring security, the friend who was with Manziel on Saturday told ESPN.