CLEVELAND — On Friday afternoon, before an assemblage of Cleveland media, the Browns began the delicate process of introducing Deshaun Watson to a fan base fractured by the acquisition of a franchise quarterback facing allegations made by 22 women.
General manager Andrew Berry acknowledged that the organization knows this transaction "has been very difficult for many people, particularly women in our community. And we realize that it has triggered a range of emotions."
Watson thanked owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam for the opportunity to join the team and repeatedly denied assaulting or disrespecting women.
"I can’t speak on what people's opinions are because everyone has their own opinions. What I can continue to do is to tell the truth. I have never assaulted or disrespected or harassed any woman in my life. I was raised differently. It’s not in my DNA, my culture, that’s not me as a person and it’s not how I was raised," said Watson.
Berry spoke first, acknowledging that the nature of the allegations led to a five-month investigation to find out who Watson is as a person before the Browns felt comfortable pursuing a trade.
#Browns Andrew Berry: "We do have faith in him as a person. We're not native to the fact that there's still work to do...but we do have faith that Deshaun will not only meet the expectations... but exceed them."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
Berry said that the Browns did not speak to the 22 women who made the allegations for legal reasons but that the team employed private investigators to gather information. Berry did not specify what those investigations entailed. Berry said that they felt good about Watson as a person and what they learned through the investigation and if they didn't they wouldn't have made the trade.
Watch Berry's statement:
"I thought it was important to say that we as an organization know that this transaction has been very difficult for many people, particularly women in our community. And we realize that it has triggered a range of emotions," Berry said. "And that as well as the the nature of the allegations, weighed heavily on all of us, myself, Kevin, you know Jimmy, Dee, Paul, Whitney, JW, as well as you know, the men and women up and down the organization who were involved in the decision-making and vetting process, and it was because of the the weight of the anticipated reaction and the the nature of the allegations that really pushed us to do as much work as possible, both internally and externally in terms of understanding cases and who Deshaun was as a person, and it was through this five-month odyssey and the information that we were able to amass, the reference work, obviously, working through due process and the legal process, that got us comfortable, pursuing a trade for Deshaun."
Stefanski echoed Berry's assertion that a lot of work went into the decision.
"I understand the concerns completely," Stefanski said. "We understand that there are questions to be answered. Have confidence in the work that we put in. I have confidence in the extensive work that our group put in to understand Deshaun. I'm really looking forward to coaching DeShaun. I know he's ready to get to work, and I'm looking forward to him being around his teammates. And really I'm looking forward to him making a very positive impact in this community."
Watch Stefanski's statement:
Watson said that he needs to "clear my name as much as possible," and said he never assaulted any women. When asked why he used so many massage therapists, Watson said that social media factored into it but could not go into detail with legal proceedings still ongoing. It was a statement some observers on social media found curious.
Watch Watson's opening statement:
Regarding fans who are turning away from the Browns, Berry said the team empathizes with their sentiments.
"I would tell you that we'll never fully be able to walk in the shoes of individuals who have been affected by sexual assault," Berry said. "And that is something that we thought about a lot as we went through this process, understanding what the reaction would be, and that's something that weighed heavily on me. And we empathize with that emotion. We empathize 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 Deshaun as a person.
"We do think that this is a decision that as it's evaluated over the long run will be something that is positive for the 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 ... We feel good about Deshaun as a person. And we think that he's going to do a lot of positive in the community."
#Browns Andrew Berry when asked if they feel Deshaun Watson is innocent of any wrongdoings: "We feel very confident in Deshaun as a person."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
The owners
Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam spoke a few hours later.
#Browns owner Jimmy Haslam says he and Dee have people close to them who are survivors of sexual abuse and they take it very seriously.
"It's not something we took lightly."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns owner Dee Haslam on those triggered by the Deshaun Watson acquisition: "Our compassion for those individuals is really deep, we know how hard this is on them."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said the third party investigators read through the depositions and he feels they got a through read on all of the Deshaun Watson allegations and made them feel comfortable with their decision to trade for him.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said they haven't seen numbers of season ticket holders but it seems that more people are renewing than dropping their tickets.
Dee Haslam says that they understand the people who make the decision to drop their tickets amid the allegations.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said the decision to pursue Deshaun Watson came from "football operations" first, not ownership.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said that they think highly of Baker Mayfield and did not get down on him.
Said ownership did not make a comment about Baker not being an "adult."
"We wish him nothing but the best of luck."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said they "heavily weighed" the opinion of their daughters, family members and friends in regards to the decision to bring in Deshaun Watson.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Dee Haslam said their daughters had some "really incredible comments" during their conversations about bringing in Deshaun Watson.
Said they worried about individuals who have experienced sexual abuse and how it will impact them.
"That's something we thought about."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
#Browns Jimmy Haslam said it was discussed that if Dee or his daughters had opposition with bringing in Deshaun Watson, they should have a veto, but at the end "everybody was on board."
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) March 25, 2022
The last week
Watson arrived in Berea Thursday to get a physical for his new team. While that was happening, a grand jury in Brazoria County, Texas, declined to indict Watson. Watson avoided criminal charges last week when a Harris County grand jury in Texas declined to indict him, but he still faces 22 civil lawsuits from as many women accusing him of sexual misconduct. In addition to the legal battle ahead of him, Watson also faces possible discipline by the NFL, which could include suspension. That remains to be seen.
“If the league’s investigation determines that Watson violated the Personal Conduct Policy, discipline may be imposed pursuant to the policy and the CBA,” an NFL spokesperson told News 5 last week.
The Browns and Watson agreed on a base salary of $1 million for 2022, which would address a possible suspension.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Watson, who sat out the 2020 season after demanding a trade, chose Cleveland to restart his career over several other teams after initially telling the Browns he wasn’t interested in playing for them. However, he changed his mind, perhaps swayed by a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
RELATED: Grand jury declines to indict Browns' new QB Deshaun Watson on previous allegation
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