It’s the off-season, and most athletes take this time to recharge their batteries, have some fun, and enjoy life.

So … Things have been rather quiet on the homefront lately… And that is as it should be. Unless your name happens to be Johnny Manziel. Then all bets are off, nothing is ever all that quiet.

Even no news is big news, when it comes to Manziel. Sadly, tabloid fodder (disguised as media outlets) trump up fake “news” stories anytime Johnny sneezes.  Next thing you know, Johnny is trending on Facebook and Twitter and the whole world thinks he has been beat up and left for dead in a dumpster in New York City. Wait, what? Someone “reported” that?

“Page Six” a notoriously unreliable rumor-mongering microsite actually reported  (assumed?) Manziel was missing after Manziel changed his plans instead of visiting the Hamptons.

Seems inconceivable doesn’t it? How does that even happen, you ask?

Here’s how … The paparazzi is so far up Johnny’s fifth point of contact, that anytime he is not where they predict him to be, they decide to generate “news” out of nothing, and report him as “missing.”  Obviously this is very unscrupulous and unprofessional behavior.  Why would a “news outlet” do something so unethical lacking in journalistic integrity!? Especially when it can only hurt and concern Manziel’s family, friends and fans?

And Johnny Manziel isn’t the only pro athlete to be torn apart by the paparazzi and press corps in recent years. Many of the big names in sports have been constantly attacked for virtually nothing other than living their lives.  It is unprofessional and indicative of the decaying of America’s moral fiber.

However, nasty, untrue, publish-at-all-costs, junk journalism is becoming a common narrative. Meanwhile, the unsuspecting American public consumes this garbage in mass quantities. And it’s all in the name of big money. If these unethical news sites can get just one person to click on their webpage, then it validates their existence to advertisers who pay big money to put ads on the websites. So if the fake news dudes can get even one thing to go viral they’ll make a lucrative payday off of their fake news. Sad, isn’t it? But, oh so lucrative!

Once a news outlet, any news outlet, publishes a “report”, even if it’s just something based off of a Twitter rumor, it then becomes somewhat legit. Other news agencies pick it up and reference the rumor as their “source.” This makes it look even more legit. Eventually mainstream news outlets like Yahoo, CBS Sports, and other entities pick up the story… and then the fake “news” may even “hit the wire” which means it is force-fed to every news outlet in America. Even Europe. One well-known, so-called-news rag out of Great Britain is constantly reporting on Manziel.  Some websites (i.e. Gospel Herald) that cater to a very small target market have started publishing Manziel news stories just to attract more people to their websites even though they have nothing at all to do with sports or even news. Why?! It makes them big money and it lures more gullible people to their site. It’s called hub marketing. We refer to it as “Hyping for Hits.”

So, when is it going to stop? When are people going to stop patronizing these unethical “news sites”?

The answer is incredibly simple.  It ends, when we, as consumers, quit clicking on the links, quit buying into the hype, and quit patronizing these crappy excuses for new sites. If we do not visit the sites, guess what … they don’t get paid. So hit them in their pocketbook, where it hurts. Don’t be manipulated into buying into the junk that they are selling on Manziel and other athletes. It just hurts Manziel and his family. And if we choose to avoid clicking or tapping on the latest sensational journalism, it will also hurt the unethical jerks lying in the “news” just to make a buck.

Pay attention to which “news” sites are constantly publishing the incorrect hype. Make a conscientious effort to not visit those websites.  Look for reputable, well-resourced news outlets instead.

And even though we don’t advocate visiting the sites at all, it is possible to take The “junk news boycott” a step further by paying attention to exactly who is advertising on these unethical web sites that carry tabloid style news about Manziel and others. If it becomes obvious that some corporation is apparently hoping to make a quick buck by advertising on a site that makes even more money off by hyping junk journalism, we have the option to personally boycott these corporations.

Please take a moment to truly evaluate what’s going on. Don’t get fooled by the plastic hype machine. You can make a difference by being particular about your choices.

And most importantly don’t take everything you see published about Johnny Manziel  on a “news” site as the gospel truth. Quite a lot of these “reports” are nothing more than junk journalism carefully crafted to lure and manipulate unsuspecting fans.

Manziel said it best… he’s the same guy he has always been. It makes better sense to believe in him versus believing the word of some paparazzi, fake-news, hype-selling, con artists?  #KeepTheFaith

There’s a 100% chance that “no news” will become junk news again in the future when the next unethical blogger decides to publish lies, innuendo or unverified rumors.  And there’s also a good chance that Manziel will be criticized – no matter what he does … Remember, we each have a choice to not buy into the hype.

We’re not saying Johnny Manziel is perfect, (no one is!) but he’s living his life as he sees fit. And that is really as it should be. Johnny didn’t make a name for himself by doing nothing, or by worrying about critics.

If you have questions, hit us up and we will do our best to get a solid answer for you. We may not know everything, but we’re not about to publish garbage “news” on Johnny Manziel that isn’t true.

Now back to your regularly scheduled peace and quiet.

#JFF
#Johnny
#JManziel2
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#JManFans
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#GigEm
#TFND
#GATA

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Pass it back y’all and show Johnny that we have his six! 👍

Photo Credit:  Frank Victores/AP