BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns have no regrets, and if they could do this all over again, they would.
The stain left by the sexual misconduct allegations made by two dozen women against Deshaun Watson on the organization is well worth it to have Watson help them win games.
Managing and principle partner Jimmy Haslam said “absolutely” when asked if he was comfortable with Watson being the face of the franchise.
Haslam gave an impassioned statement about standing behind Watson Thursday after a settlement was reached between Watson and the NFLPA and the NFL on an 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“I think in this country – and hopefully in the world, people deserve second chances,” Haslam said. “I really think that, and I struggle [with] a little bit, is he never supposed to play again? Is he never supposed to be part of society? Is he getting no chance to rehabilitate himself? And that’s what we’re going to do. OK? And you can say, ‘Well that’s because he’s a star quarterback.’ Well of course. But if he was Joe Smith, he wouldn’t be on the headlines every day.
“So, we think people deserve a second chance. We gave Kareem Hunt a second chance. OK? And that’s worked out pretty well. OK? We’re hoping this will work out and we have strong belief it will. That doesn’t mean we don’t have empathy for people affected and we will continue to do so, but we strongly believe, strongly believe people deserve a second chance. We believe Deshaun Watson deserves a second chance.”
As part of that settlement Watson will be required to undergo a professional evaluation and treatment. Failure to do abide by their program would impact his reinstatement, which is set to be November 28. Watson can return on a part time basis October 10.
Prior to Berry and the Haslams speaking, Watson spoke and struck a much different tone than the one in his written statement released by the team as the league announced the disciplinary settlement.
Watson did not sound contrite and again not like someone ready to admit they made a mistake or had a problem which calls into question just how successful therapy will be for him.
There is also the possibility that Watson remained intentionally guarded because there is still one active lawsuit pending against him.
“Counseling takes time. You do not just go to a counseling session, wake up and understand the impact it has,” Dee Haslam said. “I think it is a layering effect, and it takes weeks, months and a long time to get to where you understand so much more about yourself. I think Deshaun has made progress from the time he came here to now. He is making progress, but it is not going to happen overnight. He is 26 years old, and he is just getting into counseling. It is going to take some time.”
The Browns believe in Watson – on and off the field.
Thursday afternoon they vouched for him once again and made it clear they have no regrets about bringing him to Cleveland.
“Yes, we would,” executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said when asked if they’d still trade six draft picks and give Watson $230 million guaranteed following five months of additional accusations and a scathing 16-page report written by former federal judge Sue L. Robinson concerning Watson’s alleged behavior and multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“We mentioned at the time that our process was thorough,” Berry added. “We felt like we made an informed decision. [We] Understand why others might not have made the same decision that we did, but we do believe that Deshaun has strong positive qualities and we do think that he has done everything in his power to integrate himself with our team and done everything we have asked.
“We do believe that as he goes through the self-improvement and self-growth process that he has the opportunity to make a strong and positive contribution to our team and our organization – on and off the field.”
The Browns desperately want everyone to look forward and to forget the contents of the 24 lawsuits or Robinson’s report.
They also believe fans who might have bailed on the team as a result of this will come back when Watson hits the field and wins them games.
“We have unbelievable fans,” Haslam said. “The fan support has been outstanding. Our ticket sales are great. Our corporate support is outstanding. We are not naïve enough to think that there are not some people who disagree with that. It is our hope that over a period of time, we will win them back.”