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This article was published 1/3/2019 (571 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie doesn’t regret welcoming Johnny Manziel into his league last season.

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t got a bad taste in his mouth now that the controversial quarterback is banned from the CFL after just one year, for reasons which remain unexplained.

"Well, I’m disappointed," Ambrosie, in Winnipeg Friday on his annual winter tour to every CFL market, told the Free Press.

"I’m disappointed that it didn’t work for him. I’m disappointed that what we tried to do, which I would say was very honourable in its intent, didn’t work. I wouldn’t use the word regret, but I am filled with a sense of disappointment."

Manziel was released by the Montreal Alouettes and barred by Ambrosie from signing with any other CFL team earlier this week "after it was found that Manziel had contravened the agreement which made him eligible to play in the league."

Ambrosie remained tight-lipped Friday on the conditions Manziel was expected to follow, and he wouldn’t reveal what he did to have his contract voided.

Justin Dunk, a reporter with 3DownNation, reported that Manziel, citing sources, was released because he skipped mandatory meetings with people tasked to keep him accountable — meetings that were among the conditions permitting him to play in the CFL.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink," Ambrosie said when asked what lessons he took from the experience.

"We tried to set this up for the player to do maybe what others had not done for him, put some guardrails up and ask him to stay between those white lines and we’re all going to be fine.

"But no matter how hard you want somebody to do something, they have to want it for themselves just as much."

The 26-year-old Manziel spent just one season in Canada, first signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before being traded to the Alouettes midway through the season. The Texan showed minor flashes in eight starts with Montreal, but the results were mostly disappointing for the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner. Manziel won just two games, passing for 1,290 yards and five touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions.

Ambrosie approved Manziel to play in the CFL on Dec. 28, 2017, with his participation contingent on several conditions. "These conditions, while extensive and exacting, remain confidential," the commissioner said at the time.

From the outside, it appears Manziel got exactly what he had hoped for: a chance to return to the U.S. to play football. It was no secret Manziel wanted his time in the CFL to be short-lived, just enough for him get some game film that could be used to sell his services south of the border.

"Yeah, it might look like he got what he wanted," said Ambrosie, "but what I have today is the principles on which we’ve decided to operate, and as long as we don’t abandon those we have a great future."

An investigation by the Free Press in January 2018, which looked into the CFL’s approval of Manziel, revealed inconsistencies and raised serious questions regarding the implementation of league policy both by the CFL and the Tiger-Cats. One of the notable omissions in the league’s due diligence was failing to speak with Manziel’s former girlfriend, who accused him of physical and emotional abuse.

Manziel is now free to sign elsewhere and it’s rumoured he’s been in talks with the Alliance of American Football, a spring league that started up this year. He could also join the rebirth of the Xtreme Football League (XFL), another spring league, which is scheduled to start up next year.

"What I saw during the season is he was operating within the white lines and I got steady and regular reports on that, so from that I was happy for him," Ambrosie said. "I was happy that in those moments I thought maybe this is really helping. But here we are."

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton