Deshaun Watson’s horrific season as Cleveland’s signal caller has come to an end in dramatic fashion. The alleged abuser was producing one of the worst quarterback seasons the NFL had ever seen when he ruptured his Achilles in a non-contact injury, on Sunday. Ending his season and the suffering he inflicted on the Brown’s fanbase in 2024.
Fans have expressed their frustration with Watson long before his injury on Sunday. Dreadful QB play, a comically large guaranteed contract, and accusations of serial sexual abuse have resulted in overwhelming hate for the alleged sexual predator. The stadium erupted in celebratory boos and cheers aimed at Watson as the team’s medical personnel worked on him, and intensified as he was carted off the field sobbing.
It is important to explicitly talk about what Watson is continually accused of, considering most of the athletes who spoke out in defense of Watson failed to do so.
Several prominent figures like LeBron James, Paul Pierce, and Jamis Winston have since fired off on fans calling them “classless” and “lame” for booing the QB accused of assaulting women 25 different times. Appearing to ignore the complexities of the situation. The support for Watson has created an overwhelming sense of disappointment amongst fans simply because the same level of support has yet to be shown for the alleged survivors of Watson, and in some cases, have been ignored completely.
The NFL suspended Watson in 2022 for 11 games and fined him $5 million after initially deciding to suspend him for only six games. The decision made by former federal judge Sue Robinson is quite the read and the entirety of that document can be found here. In it’s conclusion it reads: ” Mr. Watson is hereby suspended for six regular season without pay. Although this is the most significant punishment ever imposed on an NFL player for allegations of non-violent sexual conduct, Mr. Watson’s pattern of conduct is more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL.”
Watson’s tenure with the Browns has been a dumpster fire even without considering the alleged serial abuse. The story begins with the Browns foolishly (hindsight is 2020, I guess) gave Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million over five years right as his legal battles began to heat up. Since that decision, Watson has served an 11-game suspension, suffered two season ending injuries, the Browns missed the 2022 playoffs, lost in the wild card round last year to the Texans, are off to an abysmal start this season, and obviously, Watson is literally an accused sex offender 25x running.
So yes, it was unsportsmanlike to cheer for the end of Watson’s season, but why should he be entitled to the sportsmanship of a fanbase that has been borderline victimized by it’s front office and deeply questionable choice of quarterback? It is important to at least paint the full picture when attempting to reprimand a rightfully frustrated fanbase, especially from the position of extreme privilege that many public defenders of Watson maintain.
Deshaun Watson was never criminally charged but has settled more than 22 civil lawsuits regarding the allegations. The most recent lawsuit was filed in September of 2024 and settled in October.
Written by Raven Ullah, WUFO Intern
