Deshaun Watson Situation Testing the Limits of Browns Fans
After this week, some of you are probably ready to get off of the Deshaun Watson rollercoaster.
The new Cleveland Browns quarterback started out the week receiving praise for treating the offense to a weekend trip in the Bahamas along with hope that the league's investigation into his conduct might be nearing an end. As the week progressed, league investigators determined the three days they spent interviewing Watson will not be enough, details emerged from the pretrial deposition that weren't incriminating but were nevertheless unpleasant and then it was announced on Friday that HBO's Real Sports plans to air interviews with several of Watson's accusers on Tuesday.
You might have tuned into a conversation about Watson that started with the latest news surrounding his lawsuits as well as how a suspension might impact the team and finished the segment with a video of a 20-foot putt from a golf course posted to his Instagram account. You might have listened to a commentator opine that the trip to the Bahamas is a testament to his leadership while reading up on the details of text messages sent from Watson, apologizing to one of his accusers because she was in tears at the end of a session.
If all of this feels overwhelming, it's because it is.
Chances are you're a fan that rooted for the Browns before Dee and Jimmy Haslam bought the team and acquired Watson, associating the Browns with good, formative memories with family and friends. Not only are you unwilling to allow these individuals to take that away from you, but you suffered through up to two decades of bad football waiting for this team to turn it around.
Now that it has, including a potential path to the Super Bowl, you want to be excited about your team. You put your time in and deserve it. Unfortunately, you're probably also battling some mixed feelings which might include guilt over the the possibility that Watson might have done what's being alleged.
Whether you were disappointed that this front office would make this trade in the first place or you're desperately hoping that Watson will somehow be exonerated, you are likely experiencing some emotional turmoil.
This past week was arguably the most challenging since Watson's introductory press conference. If Real Sports airs on-camera interviews with accusers on Tuesday, it's likely only going to get worse. Up to this point, there have been some short clips, still photos, transcribed interviews and a few articles written by accusers, but nothing on this scale.
With these interviews, they may stop being 22 women, almost a throwaway line at this point, and become real people with names, families and stories that viewers can both empathize and relate. There will be female Browns fans who want to continue rooting for this team, but can identify with what these women are saying, because they've had similar experiences at some point in their lives.
These interviews are going to be tried in the court of public opinion. Even if that has no bearing on the civil lawsuits Watson is currently facing in Texas or cause the criminal justice system to take another look at his case, it is likely to have an impact on how the league handles Watson. The NFL, who already tried their best to bury the Browns on the schedule, have made no secret of the fact they are worried about the PR involved in deciding Watson's fate. They will be paying close attention to how viewers react.
It's a virtual certainty that Watson and the Browns are going to get crushed coming out of Tuesday night. Regardless of Watson's guilt or innocence, it will heighten the emotions and fears some of you are already experiencing. Those rebukes will not be intended to feel personal, but that can be easier said than done when a sports team is such a big part of your life.
The Browns may have done all the research possible in vetting Watson, used actuarial tables to evaluate the risks and determined it was worth making the trade. They likely even projected the backlash and loss of fans in the wake of making the move. It's just difficult to believe they could predict or account for the amount of stress this would generate for those of you that want to stick it out and keep rooting for this team. After all, it's sports. It's supposed to be fun and needless to say, thus far it hasn't been.
So with a resolution on Deshaun Watson likely another month away, two months until training camp and three and a half until the start of the regular season, some of you may reach your breaking point following this team. At the very least, you've probably thought to yourself that if anyone deserves an all-expanses paid vacation to the Bahamas, it's fans.
