Deshaun Watson's introductory press conference was somber and joyless, as the Browns defended their actions and Watson proclaimed innocence amid murky allegations. (TheLandOnDemand)
A day unlike any other in the history of the Browns
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
It should have been a day of celebration – the Browns finally introducing the elusive elite quarterback the franchise has longed for to compete with the big boys of the NFL. But it couldn’t be that.
After waiting so long for a talented quarterback like Deshaun Watson to cheer for, fans are polarized by murky allegations and whether the incredible investment made by the Browns will forever stain this point in franchise history. Win at what cost?
The complicated and controversial backdrop of sexual abuse and misconduct complaints filed by 22 female massage therapists hung heavily over Watson’s introduction and sucked any joy from the room. The mood was somber.
GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski were uncomfortable on the dais and forced into defensive mode, explaining the extensive research the organization did to become comfortable about selling the farm for Watson. Berry termed it “a five-month odyssey.”
They spoke in sullen tones about the gravity of the charges made against their newest face of the franchise and continually expressed anxiety about and compassion for victims of sexual abuse and harassment.
“This is not easy,” Stefanski said. “I certainly have sincere empathy for anybody who is a victim of sexual abuse in any way. These are hard, hard conversations.”
Two grand juries in Texas have declined to prosecute criminal charges against Watson. But Berry and Stefanski dodged questions about whether they believed Watson was innocent of any wrongdoing, and not just guilty of committing a crime.
“We feel confident in Deshaun the person,” Berry concluded. “We have a lot of faith in him. We believe that as he gets into the community and our organization, he is going to make a positive impact.”
Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam excused themselves for being out of the country and held a separate Zoom conference with reporters afterwards.
“I just want to say this has been a really hard and difficult journey for us and for our family,” Dee Haslam said. “We spent a lot of time and a lot of evenings spending time with our daughters and working through this as a family. I have to tell you, it was really hard. We had to really work hard to get comfortable with the decision."
Jimmy Haslam added, “We as a family, we as ownership and we as an organization understood this was going to be difficult and that there would be a lot of people who were not comfortable with it and who would criticize it. We understand it will take time. Some people may never get over it. Here again, we are confident in Deshaun and in the organization that over a period of time, he will be able to gain their trust.”
Watson calmly states his innocence
In his first opportunity in over a year to answer questions publicly about accusations of sexual misconduct, Watson adamantly denied them and maintained he will defend his name and honor rather than settle financially to make the 22 civil cases go away.
“All I can say is, again, I never assaulted, I never disrespected and I never harassed any woman in my life,” Watson said calmly. “I was not raised that way. My mom and my aunties did not raise me that way. Over the course of my life, that is not in my DNA. As far as the details about the things they are alleging, I can’t speak on that because there is an ongoing investigation, but in the future once everything is resolved, I will sit down and would love to talk about it.”
Watson said he understood “that there is going to be a stain that will probably stick with me for a while, but all I can do is keep moving forward and continue to show the person I am – the true character, the true person and the true human being I am.”
At times, Watson’s comments strained incredulity.
“I do not have any regrets,” he said. “Like I said before, the things that are off the field right now that came up caught me by surprise because I never did anything that these people are alleging.”
Asked if he were willing to undergo counseling as part of the process to restore public confidence in him, Watson said, “It is hard for me to say the counseling part because I do not have a problem. I do not have an issue, and that is what I have been saying from the beginning.”
The reporting of Watson’s cases revealed he used upwards of 40 different massage therapists over the years. Most were located by him through social media. Why so many and why not use team resources for that?
“I can’t get too far into detail because there is an ongoing investigation still, but I can say that with this now day and age, especially with my age group, social media is a big business part that goes into it,” he said.
“It is not in one period of time. I have been in Houston five years, so you go to different people. Like I said before, I can’t get too far into the details, but as businesses work and you move and meet different people and people have different schedules and blocks, you kind of meet people over time.”
Perhaps the most difficult thing to believe was Watson’s answer about changing his mind in the trade process and choosing the Browns after initially cutting them first from the field of four teams courting him. The others were the Falcons, Saints and Panthers.
Watson agreed to waive his no-trade clause with the Texans after the Browns made a second contract offer fully guaranteeing him $230 million over five years. It’s the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history – by $80 million – and is seen as a breakthrough occurrence that will forever change the league.
“Actually, it had nothing to do with the contract,” Watson said. “I did not know about the contract until I told my agent that I wanted to come and be a Cleveland Brown. That was secondary. That was after the fact that we spoke on the phone with AB, Kevin and the Haslam family. That had nothing to do with me choosing the Cleveland Browns.”
Browns defend their actions
Berry and Jimmy Haslam were questioned hard on how they could characterize their research as “extensive” without interviewing any of the accusers or their attorney.
Berry said the Browns were advised by their attorneys that doing so would interfere with the criminal investigation of Watson. He said the Browns employed independent investigators in Houston law enforcement “to get an unbiased, well-rounded and comprehensive perspective on the allegations.”
“We felt good about everything that we collected,” Berry said. “We felt good about Deshaun as a person. We feel good about what we learned from the cases to a point where we felt comfortable pursuing the trade and bringing him into the building. If we did not, in terms of what happened or moving forward, we would have not made the trade.”
Jimmy Haslam said, “I think another way to say it is two different grand juries in two different counties looked at nine different criminal cases and decided not to move forward. We have to trust that process. I think that is really important.”
The squeamishness exhibited by Berry and Stefanski in the 40-minute press conference made it appear that they might not be all-in on this very risky endeavor. Haslam was asked if the idea to pursue Watson was conceived by the men in football operations and sold to ownership – or was it the other way around?
“It was definitely conceived by football operations,” Haslam said. “I can tell you it was widely vetted throughout our organization, including ownership, but it was conceived in football operations.”
While Berry said the pursuit of Watson was a “five-month odyssey” – which began right after the NFL trade deadline in early November – the Browns maintain they didn’t seriously consider replacing Baker Mayfield as quarterback of the team until after the season ended.
When Mayfield caught wind of the pursuit of Watson, he reacted with a farewell letter to Cleveland fans and then a request to be traded. During that time, ESPN insider Chris Mortensen reported that a Browns official felt the Browns needed “an adult” at the quarterback position. That statement, believed to be attributed to Haslam, made any further relationship with Mayfield and the Browns untenable.
“Contrary to what is out there in the press, we think highly of Baker and did not get down on him,” Haslam said. “I know there is a statement that we needed ‘an adult in the room,’ and Baker felt that came from ownership, but that is not true.
“Baker gave it everything he had while he was here. Nobody can question his effort this past year, and nobody can question the four years he gave to the City of Cleveland. We wish him nothing but the best of luck.”
Mayfield is still under contract with the Browns and appears to be a man without a team, adding more confusion to a fan base that can’t fully process – much less celebrate – what just happened.
