CINCINNATI, Ohio – With a 4’3” local television celebrity in the audience to question him, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis apologized a third time for calling Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel “a midget.”
Lewis referred to the 6-foot quarterback that way during a radio show on Monday night.
Facing reporters directly Wednesday for the first time since the remark, Lewis said his comment “was dumb and caused a lot of uproar. I apologize again for that.”
“Li’l John” Rinaldi, a television celebrity from Cleveland who stands 4’3”, sat in the front row for Lewis’ news conference in Cincinnati and asked a couple of questions about preparing for quarterbacks of different heights. Lewis said the Bengals have to adjust to what Manziel does well as a scrambling quarterback.
For his part, Manziel says he plans to block out the hype and “just play football” in his first NFL start.
Manziel said getting the chance to start is “a dream come true” and he’s not going into the game with any expectations. He said he expects the atmosphere at FirstEnergy Stadium will “be nuts” as Browns fans finally get their first extensive regular-season look at Johnny Football.
Manziel said the coaching staff is making sure he’s “over-prepared” for the game.