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  • Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) thanks the offensive line at the end of the game as the Texas A&M Aggies face the Oklahoma University Sooners during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Friday, January 4, 2013. Texas A&M Aggies defeated Oklahoma Sooners 41-13. Dallas Morning News

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January 7, 2013

BLOG: Manziel subject to unfair criticism

Aaron Colen, Sports Editor, Aaron.Colen@chickashanews.com The Express-Star

— Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has received some criticism for being seen in a 21-and-up bar after his team beat Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.

Manziel was reportedly celebrating, and was joined by his parents and drinking alcohol.

I don't condone underage drinking, or law-breaking of any kind, but I don't see that this should bother anyone. If you're going to be bothered by Manziel's underage drinking, are you equally bothered by the underage drinking that goes on everywhere?

You would probably be hard-pressed to find any bar on a Friday or Saturday night on a major college campus that didn't have underage drinkers, athletes or otherwise.

Again, this isn't to say that we shouldn't care at all about underage drinking. We should. But, we also shouldn't single out a 20-year-old who is celebrating with his parents for having a drink or two, just because he happens to be more recognizable. He surely wasn't the only underage person in that crowded Dallas bar.

"It's hard to watch some of the stuff that people say to you when you take a picture or you do some stuff or you're at these games or whatever," he said in a recent story. "It's tough to sit back, and you can't really defend yourself regardless of how much you want to scream out, 'I've been doing this forever. This is nothing new for me.'"

It shouldn't be new to anyone else, either, but somehow, there are people who act like it is.

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