Cheering Deshaun Watson’s injury isn’t cool, but let’s not downplay his history of sexual misconduct allegations

The Week 7 Battle of Ohio between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns started off like most other Browns games this season: poorly.

The first series with Deshaun Watson behind center was a three-and-out.

The second, a 10-play, 32-yard drive, ended with a missed field goal.

The third and fourth drives, the latter of which Watson was injured on, ended in punts.

Watson was carted off the field and was confirmed to have an Achilles injury .

Browns fans have been fed up with Watson for multiple reasons, starting with the quality, or lack thereof, of Watsons play.

Hes tied for 24th in the league with five touchdowns on the season, and hes thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions.

He has taken a staggering 31 sacks, and thats not all on Watson, but he does have a tendency to hold onto the ball too long.

Bill Barnwell at ESPN broke this down in detail a few days ago, calling these first few weeks a historical outlier of a dismal start to Watsons season .

The Browns gave this man almost a quarter of a Billion With a B dollars to play like this.

It was always a huge gamble at the time Watson became available via trade from the Texans in 2022, he hadnt taken a single live game snap since the 2020 season ended.

Hes never lived up to this unprecedented massive guaranteed deal, and a salary cap hit of that size hinders roster building and long-term success.

There is a chance that this injury could clear some salary cap space for the Browns not enough to make up for losing this huge bet, but it will help some.

And yes, while a lot of fans and apparently Watsons Browns teammates have been willing to look the other way regarding approximately 20 settlements and pending civil litigation stemming from sexual misconduct allegations against Watson from multiple women .

Myles Garrett weighed in on fans booing his teammate after Watson suffered the Achilles injury.

Myles Garrett clearly upset with fans booing Deshaun Watsons injury.

Said Watson does pretty much everything right.

Hes been a model citizen through college and most of the pros.

pic.twitter.com/gElBYyI2Ym Myles Garrett is, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent players in the National Football League.

I totally understand backing up your teammate, and Im not criticizing him for that.

But saying Watson has been a model citizen through most of the pros is a bridge too far for me.

I know a bunch of women would beg to differ.

I agree with Garrett that Watson should not be getting death threats and under no circumstances should his family be threatened or harassed.

You know who else got death threats and was threatened and harassed, though? The woman who made sexual misconduct allegations against Deshaun Watson whose identity was not kept private .

Jameis Winston, who has also faced credible sexual assault allegations on more than one occasion , had a lot to say about Watsons injury.

#Browns Jameis Winston on fans cheering Deshaun Watson while he was down on the field with his season-ending torn Achilles pic.twitter.com/RphsiUMxG6 Winston is very upset on behalf of a man who has had the world against him for the last four years, and somehow fails to mention that the world has been against Watson because Watson has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women ! And he is currently under investigation for sexually assaulting a woman on a date.

These facts are very important context! I 100% believe Watson works hard and is a supportive teammate.

Ive never heard anything to the contrary and Ive been following his career since he was in high school.

And if you know ball, you know the Browns failings are not 100% on Deshaun.

Its a franchise steeped in misery, and thats never been the fault of one person.

Theres blame to go around starting with the front office that put the future well-being of the team on the line with that $230 million guaranteed.

But again, if you know ball, you also know that Deshaun is a shadow of the player he was at Clemson and in his early days in the NFL.

And he may be facing another suspension based on the outcome of the leagues investigation into the newest civil lawsuit against him.

No, I dont condone cheering when a player is injured, but especially if this injury gets the Browns some cap relief and a chance to see what Dorian Thompson-Robinson can do, I can understand why Browns fans wouldnt be heartbroken about it.

What I will never understand is Myles Garrett, and particularly Jameis Winston, sticking up for Watsons character.

Have your teammates back and criticize the fans reaction to the injury all you want, but those allegations against him are a big part of the reason Browns fans are over Deshaun Watson, and they should not be glossed over..

This article has been shared from the original article on sbnation, here is the link to the original article.