Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is being sued by an Austin, Texas, bar employee who alleged Manziel punched him and broke his nose in September, according to Claire Z. Cardona of the Dallas Morning News, who cited court documents obtained by Texas Our Texas.
Eric Newton—a bar back at the New York New York bar on East Sixth Street in Austin who made the allegations against Manziel—is seeking damages of $200,000 to $1 million in the lawsuit he filed at a Travis County district court Monday.
The lawsuit alleged Manziel attacked Newton on Sept. 6 after the former Browns quarterback "demanded" that Newton make several drinks, a task normally reserved for bartenders, not bar backs.
After someone told Manziel about an exchange regarding Manziel between Newton and another customer, Manziel allegedly "came downstairs, ran behind the bar, cursed at Mr. Newton and punched him in the face, breaking Mr. Newton's nose."
The former Texas A&M and Browns quarterback has had a series of legal issues in recent years and is due to appear in court Thursday for a hearing to dismiss a misdemeanor assault charge against him in a separate case involving his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, who accused him of "kidnapping, beating and threatening to kill her," per Cardona.
However, prosecutors and Manziel's attorney have been working on a conditional dismissal of those charges. An agreement to settle the civil case was reportedly reached "months ago," according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who added that "Manziel was given a two-year protective order, and no money changed hands."