The Cleveland Browns went all out and won.
This wasn’t card counting in Las Vegas or a George Clooney-esque scheme in one of those “Ocean’s 11” movies. It was a calculated strategy from the jump. Cleveland didn’t play the odds, they played the man. Because despite how it looked, they knew they could beat the man, human decency and responsibility, at this game. That’s why Deshaun Watson was signed to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history despite the 24 sexual misconduct allegations he faced. That’s also why the the team structured the deal around his upcoming suspension of only six games.
The Browns never flinched at the card table despite knowing that on a day like Monday, August 1. January 1, 2022 was approaching. His audacity was based on having an ace up his sleeve, knowing that the house always wins. And in this situation, the house was America’s obsession with soccer and his disbelief towards women. Watson was never going to “suffer” too much for something that society has not yet found unacceptable, despite all the public service announcements the NFL has thrown and women who comprise almost 50 percent of his fan base. This is America. And after not playing at all last season, the powers that be were ready for Watson to “get back in business” sooner rather than later.
For anyone who thought your case would be one where someone in the NFL would finally face significant punishment for doing something heinous, the joke was always on you. Thinking that this would work out is like thinking that an empty jar is half full because there are a few drops of water in it. Before the ruling fell, the NFLPA had already announced that they would uphold the ruling, hoping the league would do the same. And according to reports, “Deshaun Watson and the NFL have engaged in more deal talks in recent days, but neither side felt they were getting any closer. The best that Watson’s team indicated it would accept was 6-8 games. The best the league indicated it was willing to do was 12 games + range of $8 million high fine),” he tweeted. ESPN’s Dan Graziano one day before the suspension announced.
To make this situation even more laughable is that while it is not out of the ordinary for Watson to not be paid during his suspension, the fact that he is not fined is proof that accountability is still only a topic of conversation, and not an action, regardless of what collective agreement is at stake. And the reason for this is that the NFL is a league where the players haven’t yet grasped, or care to grasp, the sheer amount of power they wield. However, too often in situations like this, they remained silent. And though the Watson situation hung over the league for more than a year, the idea of players speaking against him it’s as weird as watching the Detroit Lions prepare for a Super Bowl.
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And that’s not to say that players won’t speak up for each other. It is to show them how silent they will be when it comes to holding each other accountable. It’s easy to write “Release my friend!!” with a photo of Calvin Ridley, who was suspended in march for at least all of next season to bet on games in 2021, as Cordarrelle Patterson did after it emerged Ridley will be out of football longer than Watson.
But where was that same energy when at least 24 women told us how Watson was such a despicable human being?
Players are understandably frustrated. They have seen how Terrelle Pryor was suspended for 5 games in 2011 for getting free tattoos in college…. IN COLLEGE. Or as Lightning Rice he only faced a two-game suspension, originally, before the video of him punching his now-wife in the face. No matter what regime was in charge, or what deals were made, the disparities between punishment and crime never seem to match. But, the train that’s never late is the ability for players to stay quiet during times when they should be the loudest.
However, the person in this situation who will morally carry this weight the longest and is not named Deshaun Watson is Judge Sue L. Robinson, who, like so many white women before her, sold her gender. Everything about this decision by Robinson makes it easy to imagine her as one of those white women who voted for Trump, as he stood up to another white woman, then went to lunch before donning a pink hat and hitting the streets. to protest. Against him. It’s a part of the conversation to consider given what happened in the NFL last week. Because while that discussion was about what a “quarterback” looks like, it also questioned the intellect, skill and talent of three of the best players in the league who happen to be black quarterbacks. And everything about this tells me that if most, or all, of Watson’s accusers had blonde hair and blue eyes, Robinson’s decision would have been very different. Because if you don’t think race plays a huge role in who is protected and adored in this country, ask Brittney Griner.
These are all the reasons why during week 7 on Sunday, October 1. On February 23, in Baltimore at 1:00 pm EST, the Cleveland Browns will take the field in their first game with their new starting quarterback. Most likely, the front office will stand up, cheer, and all five will greet each other. It will be because, despite the outcome of another division matchup, they will have won something bigger. After all, they understood that losing was never a possibility.