Love it or hate it, a decision has been made.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, as it stands, will be suspended for six games following the announcement by former federal judge Sue L. Robinson.
People are letting their feelings on the ruling be known across every media platform imaginable.
That includes Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam who released a statement following the announcement.
It can be seen here at this Tweet from the organization.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 1, 2022
Given the circumstances around the suspension, it’s expected that the owners of the team would release a statement. They’ve been vocal throughout much of the process in getting to this point.
That trend continued on Monday and will likely continue moving forward.
Backing Watson
The Haslams have been nothing but supportive of Watson since his trade to Cleveland.
Most of their statements about Watson acknowledge the uneasy feelings that his alleged actions cause among fans while still noting the remorse from Watson.
That’s more or less what their statement on Monday summarized as they talked about “triggered” individuals.
Additionally, they mentioned Watson’s need to work on behavioral improvement alongside their support.
It reiterated their feelings on the matter all along: that Watson likely needs some help off the field and that they can work with him to get him what he needs.
Browns make the Deshaun Watson trade official on their end. Statements from Jimmy and Dee Haslam, Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski pic.twitter.com/YdjbFNgq5x
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) March 20, 2022
Committing and Consistency
One of my favorite lines from the TV show Justified is “you opened this can of worms, now let’s finish it”.
That saying is something the Haslams are living up to now with Watson.
Even before trading for him, it was understood that any team that landed him would bring a media frenzy along with the move.
That destination ended up being Cleveland, and fans are seeing how crazy things get.
The Haslams, of course, knew this too.
They were okay with it or else Andrew Berry and the front office wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.
Now the organization has to finish the can of worms it opened.
The Haslams, along with Berry and Kevin Stefanski, have done a good job staying consistent with their words.
They remain open and critical of the allegations while still supporting Watson without throwing him under the bus.
What Next, Jimmy and Dee?
The NFL has three days to appeal the decision made by Robinson.
If additional games are added on to Watson’s suspension or something like that, I’m sure we’ll hear from the Haslams again.
Other than that, aside from community-wide statements on sexual assault, we may not hear a whole lot more from Jimmy and Dee in the near future.
There’s not much else they can say or do at this point that would benefit any parties involved.
If Watson’s suspension lengthens, they’ll speak up.
If not, the focus may slowly be getting back to football.
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