NFL teams don’t really care about morality; they care about perception.
The Cleveland Browns gambled that the Deshaun Watson story would end up like so many before it: after a blazing wave of initial outrage, the controversy would burn up quickly once fans turned their attention to the next headline in the news cycle.
But owner Jimmy Haslam and GM Andrew Berry thought wrong, and deserve all the ire that has come from their miscalculated hubris.
The Watson story and its sordid details have remained in the public’s consciousness for months, as new information has rekindled the controversy time and again.
The latest example came on Monday, when Judge Sue L. Robinson handed Watson a laughably lenient six-game suspension for his transgressions. The NFL can appeal, which it will almost assuredly do, guaranteeing the discussion is not going away anytime soon.
Daryl Washington and Josh Gordon had their careers derailed for smoking weed.
Deshaun Watson was accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women and gets six games. 🤔
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 1, 2022
Watson is the villain in this story, and deserves all the scorn he receives for his alleged sexual misconduct. But there has always been something particularly seedy about an NFL organization not only accepting Watson’s misdeeds, but openly trying to make life easier on him.
When the Browns traded for Watson this offseason, they immediately signed him to a fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million, the largest guaranteed deal in NFL history. Even worse, they moved money around in preparation for a suspension, making sure Watson would be hit as minimally as possible in the pocketbook.
Watson will earn $46 million per year over the next five, but, after some slick bookkeeping, will lose just north of $1 million even if he ends up suspended for the entire 2022 season.
Watson and the Browns assuredly counted on a level of league punishment and public criticism, but the backlash has been so intense that this just feels different.
Watson has said multiple times that he aims to earn back trust over time, but it’s pretty clear that won’t happen.
No matter how many charity events he hosts, or how much money he donates, Watson is never getting away from these incidents. He could win multiple Super Bowls and the sexual assault allegations will always define him.
Deshaun Watson should be suspended for the full season. This shouldn't even be a discussion.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 1, 2022
Hopefully, the same goes for the Browns.
They probably believed the heat would be off by now, with a suspension meted out and anticipation slowly building as Watson participated in training camp.
Instead, it’s still a looming issue, as Cleveland doesn’t know how long it will be without its star quarterback, or how his divisive presence will affect the team in ensuing years.
Hopefully the NFL can get the suspension up to a full season, which is naturally where it belongs for a person credibly accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women.
And hopefully the reaction has been so blistering, and lasted so long, that teams truly think twice about adding a player with past misdeeds involving violence or sexual misconduct.
