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After controversial Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with an Achilles injury on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, all of his teammates who spoke up about the incident came to his defense, particularly as it related to how the fans in the stadium reacted.
In the aftermath of Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury against the Bengals, Browns players such as Deshaun Watson, Myles Garrett, Greg Newsome II and more came out in defense of Watson and chided the fans for how they responded to his injury, as a smattering of cheers were heard throughout the stadium. Garrett, for example, said that Watson has been a “model citizen for most of [his time in] the pros.”
The response to the Browns’ players’ reactions has been unanimously disapproving, as both fans and journalists alike are criticizing them for not showing that same empathy to the upwards of two dozen women that Watson has been accused of allegedly engaging in either sexual misconduct or assault with.
Former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty, who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in 2011 and is now a radio host in the Big Apple, similarly blasted the response of the Browns’ players, calling what they had to say “cringe.”
“It’s such a hard conversation for me to have because I feel like the fans in Cleveland were booing because of Deshaun Watson’s poor play — and happy that he got out of there,” Canty said during ESPN’s UnSportsmanlike radio show on Monday. “I’m not sure how much the two dozen sexual misconduct cases factored into their emotions in that particular moment. But, when I hear Myles Garrett and Jameis Winston call for empathy for Deshaun Watson — that’s cringe.”
“Where was the empathy for the two dozen victims to his sexual misconduct? And them being forced to relive that trauma after the Cleveland Browns give Deshaun Watson $230 million. Where’s your empathy for how they felt in that moment? For how victims of sexual abuse in that moment, seeing somebody being accused of something so despicable, be rewarded in that fashion. That’s the part that the players gotta be careful with that line.”
Canty even singled out NBA legend for LeBron James for similar behavior, asking why he called Watson being booed “lame” but not his 20+ sexual misconduct cases.
“I mean, LeBron James came out yesterday and talked about how lame it was for the Cleveland fans to boo Watson when he got hurt. Did you come out and talk about how lame it was with Deshaun Watson having two dozen sexual misconduct cases? That’s where you gotta be careful as a player when it comes to issues like this. And I understand wanting to defend your teammate; I understand that bunker mentality. ‘I’m in the foxhole with my guy, and I gotta defend my guy.’
While Canty made sure to add that he understands the players wanting to admonish fans for piling on an injured player, he believes they crossed the line by asking for empathy, as none of those players have showed that same public empathy towards Watson’s many accusers.
“There was nothing wrong with those players coming out and saying, ‘It lacks class for the Cleveland Browns fans to boo when Deshaun Watson got hurt.’… Leave it there. For you to go out there and make calls for empathy shows a complete lack of awareness — and something about that has to change. It is completely insensitive. And those players who thought they were doing the right thing, could not be more wrong in that moment with their commentary.”
Following his Achilles tear against the Bengals, Watson was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season. Unfortunately for the Browns, as if their acquisition of Watson wasn’t already an unmitigated disaster, the embattled signal-caller, who will be another year older and coming off a serious injury, has guaranteed $72.9 million cap hits in both 2025 and 2026.
When it’s all said and done, it’s likely that Watson’s contract goes down as the worst in the history of the National Football League, a notion made all the more painful that it came during a time when the Browns were considered to have a championship-caliber defense (and also jettisoned former #1 overall pick Baker Mayfield in order to make Watson’s arrival happen).
It was absolutely wrong for @Browns fans to boo DeShaun Watson after he got injured, period. What Myles Garrett and Jameis Winston said in response was also outta pocket. Two things can be true IMO pic.twitter.com/TGO41BqDqq
— Chris Canty (@ChrisCanty99) October 21, 2024