Deshaun Watson wanted to get his hands on the Cleveland community — a poor choice of words, perhaps, in light of the 22 ongoing civil lawsuits against him for sexual misconduct.
At his official introductory press conference this afternoon, accompanied by GM Andrew Berry and Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Watson asserted time and again to the press that he had never now assaults any woman in her life, saying, “It’s not in my DNA. ”
Yesterday, the second grand jury refused prosecute Watson on criminal charges is ultimately still on the table, and today the Browns QB just said that he has no plans to settle any of the 22 civil lawsuits. He wants to fight to clear his name. And when asked if he says nearly two dozen women are lying, why he employs 40 different masseuses, and what work he’s willing to do to rebuild. his image, he repeated that he “couldn’t get too deep into it because of the investigation, but he had “never assaulted anyone in [his] life.”
He’s ready to move on, but he may only be joined in that sentiment by Stefanski, Berry and Browns owners, Haslams. GM said that the Browns began reviewing Watson five months ago, launching what he called a full-scale investigation into Texas’ QB, but denied that it had made a decision about Baker Mayfield’s future with the concession. commercial rights at that time.
Berry says the organization has spoken to people who have known Watson throughout various stages of his life and used “independent investigative resources within Harris and Houston County law enforcement to obtain get a complete, unbiased view of the allegations.”
In fact, “comprehensively,” according to the massage therapists’ attorneys, not one of the 22 plaintiffs was ever contacted. Their attorney, Tony Buzbee, speak that no NFL team contacted him during their so-called “comprehensive review process” of Watson.
We don’t need to keep repeating that the Browns are willing to give up anything to get a top-tier quarterback, as it’s only glaringly obvious at this point. Coach Stefanski could say he has “empathy for anyone who is a victim of sexual abuse” all he wants, but that sentiment really wanes when Berry sits a few feet away. 5 feet, declined to answer a question whether its independent investigators had any contact with the women. who has been accused of assault. (Answer: they didn’t.)
Prompted by ESPN’s Jake Trotter, who asked for clarification as to whether the Browns had spoken to any of the 22 women involved in the lawsuit, Berry replied: “I’m not going. They go into detail about everything the investigators did, but they have a complete look at all criminal and civil cases. He also said the group’s lawyers had advised against contacting the plaintiffs.
Trotter was not pleased.
“So if they don’t speak to any women, what is the basis for you to call your investigation extensive, as you said on Sunday, and also for the fact that some women who have not yet given sworn testimony? They don’t have anything on file. ”
Here’s Berry’s answer to that:
“Again, Jake, I’ll go back to my statement. Independent and unbiased investigators can be comprehensive in all information they may come up with. To be honest, some of the information is not necessarily made public, but we feel satisfied with the work we have done. We feel satisfied with the work that investigators have done for us. We take a comprehensive look at all cases. “
Obviously not 22 women’s views.
Berry went on to repeat that the Browns feel comfortable and confident in “Deshaun as a person”. They didn’t have to do too much of a check on Deshaun as a Footballer, but after what Stefanski called “a huge amount of background” which, again, supposedly didn’t include speaking to any Which woman has accused him of sex. assault, but including speaking with his former teammates and coaches from Houston and Clemson, they decided that Watson’s off-field record could be ignored in favor of his on-field performance. he.
Be realistic here. The Browns would never have come to the conclusion that Watson “as a person” was not a good fit for their organization. His talent speaks for itself there, and anything else can be swept under the rug. Berry, though mentally sensitive due to the nature of the allegations, clearly wants to continue this, though he has said the Browns will cooperate with any NFL investigation.
What about Watson? He wants to “get back to the person people knew me before these allegations”.
