Cheering Deshaun Watson’s injury isn’t cool, but let’s not downplay his history of sexual misconduct allegations

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Yeah, cheering when a player is injured is gross. So are the two dozen credible sexual assault and harassment allegations against Deshaun Watson.

The Week 7 Battle of Ohio between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns started off like most other Browns games this season: poorly.

The first series with Deshaun Watson behind center was a three-and-out. The second, a 10-play, 32-yard drive, ended with a missed field goal. The third and fourth drives, the latter of which Watson was injured on, ended in punts. Watson was carted off the field and was confirmed to have an Achilles injury. Browns fans have been fed up with Watson for multiple reasons, starting with the quality, or lack thereof, of Watson’s play.

He’s tied for 24th in the league with five touchdowns on the season, and he’s thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has taken a staggering 31 sacks, and that’s not all on Watson, but he does have a tendency to hold onto the ball too long. Bill Barnwell at ESPN broke this down in detail a few days ago, calling these first few weeks “a historical outlier of a dismal start to Watson’s season.”

The Browns gave this man almost a quarter of a Billion With a B dollars to play like this. It was always a huge gamble — at the time Watson became available via trade from the Texans in 2022, he hadn’t taken a single live game snap since the 2020 season ended. He’s never lived up to this unprecedented massive guaranteed deal, and a salary cap hit of that size hinders roster building and long-term success. There is a chance that this injury could clear some salary cap space for the Browns — not enough to make up for losing this huge bet, but it will help some.

And yes, while a lot of fans — and apparently Watson’s Browns teammates — have been willing to look the other way regarding approximately 20 settlements and pending civil litigation stemming from sexual misconduct allegations against Watson from multiple women.

Myles Garrett weighed in on fans booing his teammate after Watson suffered the Achilles injury.

Myles Garrett is, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent players in the National Football League. I totally understand backing up your teammate, and I’m not criticizing him for that. But saying Watson has been a “model citizen” through “most of the pros” is a bridge too far for me. I know a bunch of women would beg to differ.

I agree with Garrett that Watson should not be getting death threats and under no circumstances should his family be threatened or harassed. You know who else got death threats and was threatened and harassed, though? The woman who made sexual misconduct allegations against Deshaun Watson whose identity was not kept private.

Jameis Winston, who has also faced credible sexual assault allegations on more than one occasion, had a lot to say about Watson’s injury.

Winston is very upset on behalf of a man who has “had the world against him for the last four years,” and somehow fails to mention that the world has been against Watson because Watson has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women! And he is currently under investigation for sexually assaulting a woman on a date. These facts are very important context!

I 100% believe Watson works hard and is a supportive teammate. I’ve never heard anything to the contrary and I’ve been following his career since he was in high school. And if you know ball, you know the Browns’ failings are not 100% on Deshaun. It’s a franchise steeped in misery, and that’s never been the fault of one person. There’s blame to go around — starting with the front office that put the future well-being of the team on the line with that $230 million guaranteed.

But again, if you know ball, you also know that Deshaun is a shadow of the player he was at Clemson and in his early days in the NFL. And he may be facing another suspension based on the outcome of the league’s investigation into the newest civil lawsuit against him. No, I don’t condone cheering when a player is injured, but especially if this injury gets the Browns some cap relief and a chance to see what Dorian Thompson-Robinson can do, I can understand why Browns fans wouldn’t be heartbroken about it.

What I will never understand is Myles Garrett, and particularly Jameis Winston, sticking up for Watson’s character. Have your teammate’s back and criticize the fans’ reaction to the injury all you want, but those allegations against him are a big part of the reason Browns fans are over Deshaun Watson, and they should not be glossed over.