Browns fans aren’t sorry to see him go. Fans in the stands in Cleveland booed Watson in pregame introductions, then reportedly cheered after he went down with his injury. After the game, Browns players including All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett chastised those fans for their reaction.
Garrett took them to task in his postgame comments at the podium.
“It was hard, the reaction that the fans gave,” Garrett said. “Whether it’s an opponent who goes down or one of our own, we don’t boo. We don’t boo guys that are injured on the field, especially with the instance when the cart comes out.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall — to be a season-altering, career-altering injury.”
Garrett then appeared to acknowledge the context engulfing the Browns in terms of Watson, who joined the team in 2022 amid allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct by more than 20 women.
“The man’s not perfect,” Garrett continued. “He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field, because I can’t throw stones from my glass house.”
“But we need to do better. We need to better on the football field, and we need to be better as fans for having some empathy for a man who’s doing the best he can and did the best he can up to this point.”
Garrett wasn’t alone in his criticism. Cornerback Greg Newsome II and backup quarterback Jameis Winston also had harsh words for Browns fans.
Disclaimer: NSFW language in the video below:
“That was bulls***,” Newsome said. “I noticed it right away. No matter what you feel about a player — performance-wise or not — you don’t boo a guy that’s down, that can’t get up by himself. So yeah, that was bulls***.
“So any fan that said anything, it’s bulls***. It’s that simple. You don’t do that. Like I said, whether a guy’s playing well or not, whether your’e a fan favorite, whether you’re anything, you don’t boo a guy who’s sitting down. So that’s bulls***.”
Newsome later reiterated his stance on social media.
Winston joined the Browns this offseason to back up Watson. The Browns demoted Winston to third string/emergency QB ahead of Sunday’s game, and he completed 5 of 11 passes for a touchdown in relief. Dorian Thompson-Robinson played most of the 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at quarterback.
Winston had this to say about the reaction from Browns fans in the stands:
“I was raised, I was taught to love no matter the circumstances, especially for people who do right by you,” Winston said postgame. “I’m grateful that I had a chance to serve Deshaun, but I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years.
“And he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day. Regardless of your perception, regardless of what you thought should happen with him, he committed every single day that I’ve been here to be the best that he can be for this team.”
Were fans wrong to boo Watson, cheer his injury?
Watson’s injury and mere presence with the Browns is loaded. Sunday was not simply an incident of fans booing an injured player who hasn’t been performing.
Watson joined the Browns amid the 20-plus civil lawsuit allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct before settling them out of court. Despite those allegations and Watson sitting for an entire season in Houston after they surfaced, the Browns traded for Watson and signed him to a historic contract with $230 million in guaranteed money.
On the field, Watson has looked nothing like his former Pro Bowl self in two-plus seasons in Cleveland plagued by injury and poor play. A Browns team that made the playoffs with Joe Flacco at quarterback last season entered Sunday at 1-5 with an offense that ranked last in the NFL in yards per game.
And the sexual assault allegations didn’t stop. Another woman accused Watson of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in September that described an allegation of an attack that she says took place in her apartment in 2020 when Watson arrived for a date. Like with the previous allegations, Watson reached a confidential agreement to settle the lawsuit out of court.
Meanwhile, Watson has been allowed to play amid a league investigation into the newly surfaced allegation that commissioner Roger Goodell says is ongoing. Fans in Cleveland are fed up with it all.
Prior to his injury, they greeted Watson with boos during pregame introductions.
Then came the reports of cheering in the stands when he was injured.
Booing an injured played in sports is taboo for good reason. It’s also fair to say that the circumstances surrounding Watson’s injury and his relationship with fans are anything but usual.
