Browns fans who may have been affected by sexual assault,
whether their victims, or they know victims
people who just think it's wrong to, to trade for a player
with this number of allegations that he's still facing
in the legal system.
And a lot of people are saying we're out, we're done with
the Browns.
What do you say to people? Who say we can't root for this
team?
You know, Nate.
I would tell you that.
We'll never fully be able to walk in the shoes of
individuals who have been affected by by sexual assault.
And that is something that we thought about a lot. As we went
through this process, understanding
what the reaction would, you know what the reaction would be
and that's something that weighed heavily on me.
and
we empathize with,
we empathize with that emotion. We empathize with that with
that sentiment.
And at the same time,
we also
do feel good about the work that we did.
As we vetted this transaction.
We do have confidence and faith in the Shawn as a person
and
that did weigh heavily decision.
But between the
information that we were able to gather
working through due process, working through the legal
process,
you know, we do think that this is the decision
that as it's evaluated over, the long run
will be something that
is positive for organization. And we totally respect and
totally empathize with those sentiments. Right now. Totally
understand that there are people who
Are not comfortable with the transaction right now.
Aish translation.
Hmm.
We don't care. What happened in Houston.
We believe whatever happened in Houston, isn't going to happen
again. And once we start winning football games, it's
all going to be forgotten.
DeShaun, Watson himself mentioned on multiple occasions
today Super Bowls not bold,
clear Cleveland Browns fan, happy with a bowl. Not not to
one
would make this a success.
Don't need three, four. Five, six.
One is good enough. I assume you would agree.
So I would, I think that's that's the pervasiveness.
Ality, and remember, 2010.
It was as low as it ever got for Ben Roethlisberger in
Pittsburgh. After he got suspended. They wanted to run
him out of town. The team looked into
into trading him. It was horrible. Everybody hated Ben
Roethlisberger.
And who was one of the
limited partners
of the Pittsburgh Steelers
in 2010. Who's Jimmy Haslam?
He's seen how quickly it can change because they went to
the Super Bowl that year. And by the next year,
it was pretty much forgotten miles.
I would say that
I think we're in a different day and age
and I don't think that's this is going to be as easily
forgotten. No matter how much DeShaun Watson does or doesn't
win with the Browns. I think that this is going to follow
him for the rest of his career. And
I mean, it probably should
when there are 22 allegations against you. We know we keep
talking about the, some point between one and twenty two.
Now, I mean, there are 22 allegations so that I think is
going to continue to follow him but I mean, this is
a production equals tolerance lie.
Alright, when Ray Rice
assaulted his then fiance is now wife
in 2014. The reason he did not play ever again
is because he's a running back and he was a declining running
back in. This is a quarterback who is one of the top five
quarterbacks in the league when he's on the field production
equals tolerance.
DeShaun Watson is better than maker Baker, Mayfield indisputably
and so that's why the brown
Is go out and they do what they do.
And you know, I think that certainly
over time if this works and DeShaun, Watson has success on
the field, it will become more or less in the background, but
I do think that, you know, people will forget
and that you know, even if Jean Watson plays that, why I just,
I don't know, I think that this is going to stick with him.
I really do
at one point. They were pressing Andrew Berry today on
the very basic truth that they only went to all this trouble
because DeShaun Watson is Lee good, they wouldn't have done
this for anybody else. They would have just said, forget
it. It's not worth it.
And Andrew Barry did a very nice job of stickhandling, his
way around it. But that's the truth. You're willing to do,
all of this spend all this time. Spend all this money
because of the quality of the player, if he's not DeShaun
Watson,
they see 22 civil lawsuits and they run in the other direction.