There is something near-balletic about the way Johnny Manziel pivots off of this heinous face mask. Arthur Moats engages Manziel in a poetic dance that transcends violence, rendering itself into a horrific moment that is both artful and—dare we say—sexy?Surely, as an NFL audience, we skate the razor-thin edge between that which is acceptable contact and that which is egregious assault. And don't get me wrong: this clearly falls more toward the latter. But take solace in the fact that Manziel is a spry young NFL chicken, and his bones are made more of rubber than chalk. Just look at the way he bounces up to complain for the call. (As if everyone didn't know it was a face mask already.)
In fact, Manziel was checked for injuries, and came away only with a missing contact lens. Thankfully. Because now we can get back to marveling at the violent beauty of this Matrix-like moment in which Manziel disengages the earth and its gravity in a display of raw dance prowess. They should make a sculpture.Or fine Moats. Because that was horrible.Johnny Manziel just received the most violent neck massage of all time https://t.co/ywFji8ZoUJ
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 15, 2015