Dee and Jimmy Haslam: "We got very Comfortable with Deshaun Watson the Person"
In a second press conference, separate from the one that included new Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, Dee and Jimmy Haslam answered questions about the acquisition of their star quarterback.
One phrase that came up a number of times, often their default position, was their comfort with Deshaun Watson as a person. When asked about whether believe Watson did any wrongdoing, Haslam said "we are trusting the legal process."
Jimmy Haslam notably said they aren't going to tell Watson anything in terms of how he should handle the 22 civil lawsuits he's currently facing, leaving that up to Watson and his legal team. Watson said in the earlier press conference he does not intend to settle, fighting for his reputation.
Jimmy Haslam also clarified that while this process was a five month investigation, the interest in Watson, did not begin in earnest until the season had ended. He noted that the organization routinely begins evaluating players across the league at that point in the season, so the research into Watson beginning at that point was routine.
He also said the idea of acquiring for Watson started with the football operation when he was asked. That means that he was Plan A when the offseason began and were simply waiting to get the legal go ahead, which occurred when the first grand jury declined to bring up charges against Watson.
Haslam said that any hesitancy with coming to Cleveland for Watson was about weather and distance from home as opposed to the lucrative $230 million contract. For his part, Watson said he was unaware of the contract that was coming when he made the decision to waive his no-trade clause to play for the Browns.
As it relates to Mayfield, Haslam said they think highly of Mayfield. He insisted the "adult" comment did not come from him.
"We think highly of Baker and did not get down on him. I know there's a statement that we needed an adult in the room and Baker felt that came from ownership. That's not true. Nobody can question the 4 years he gave... we wish him nothing but the best of luck."
Dee Haslam said that they respected their fans and any decisions that might come as a result of the acquisition of Watson, noting it's a "tough subject".
The Haslams also consulted their daughters in this process. At one point, Jimmy Haslam was presented with the idea that they or Dee should have the right to veto the move. Haslam would go on to say, "Everybody was on board to do this. Some later than others."
