2024-07-30 11:05:02
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson could have just politely not answered the question. Athletes do that all the time. Or he could have answered it in a way that wasn’t so…so…so him. At the very least, Watson could have used the opportunity to show that he finally gets it. Or is trying to. But no. Nope. Nah.
Watson went full Watson and you should never, ever go full Watson.
What Watson said isn’t necessarily a shock but it’s a window into who he is as a person. This may not be a problem for the Browns because, in the end, what matters to them is how Watson plays. If they were concerned about Watson the person, they wouldn’t have signed him in the first place.
All of this started with a simple question. Watson was asked what he’s changed entering this season as opposed to his previous two with Cleveland.
This was his answer: “Honestly, it’s really just blocking out all the bull—- outside. Stuff coming in two years, different environment, different team, different all that. So, you come in and your character is being mentioned this way and it kind of flip on you and you’re trying to get people to like you or improve. But now it’s like, at the end of the day, it’s two years in and if you don’t like me or you have your own opinion, it is what it is.
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“… Blocking out all the noise and focusing on me, focusing on what I need to do to be the best Deshaun Watson I can be for myself, for my family and for my teammates.”
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Read this quote carefully and pay close attention to the “blocking out all the bull—-” part of it. It’s remarkable, actually. The ultimate meme. Take your pick of which one. Maybe this. It’s like someone punching themselves in the face and then saying: I’m going to block out all the pain of a self-inflicted broken nose and focus on me, the person who punched himself in the face.
What kind of logic is that?
More than two dozen women have accused Watson of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. The NFL suspended him for 11 games. As has been discussed by many people, many times, if you believe all or even most of those women are lying, you are a complete fool.
More importantly, Watson put himself in those situations. Those were his alleged actions.
What Watson said gets even worse. When asked if it’s been difficult to block the outside noise, Watson said: “Of course. My character was being challenged. Like I said, I know who I am. A lot of people never really knew my history or knew who I really was, so they’re going based off other people’s opinions and whatever other people are saying.
“I’m a person that likes to have people like me and I feel like a lot of people are like that. So, sometimes things in your brain, you’ve just got to churn and you’ve got to just be like, ‘Forget it.’ It is what it is.”
Again, it would have been better for him to shut up. It’s OK to have an inside voice.
Watson would respond to this criticism by saying he’s innocent. That he did nothing wrong. He’d say it’s his right to defend himself. But Watson still doesn’t understand that for most people who aren’t dupes or sycophants, when they see accusations from dozens of women, they believe the women. They don’t live in the fantasy world he inhabits. Few people do.
What’s clear is that as time passes, Watson is starting to feel more comfortable talking about that moment, and these comments show him, in a way, trying to rewrite that history. But he can’t. We all know what Watson is accused of and how many women made those accusations.
Watson can’t talk his way out of this. Ever.
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