I've been loosely following Watson and it keeps getting creepier and creepier. From Eisen's video below that recaps a NY Times article, Watson reached out to 66 women on Instagram in 17 months and it got so bizarre that the Texans gave Watson NDAs to hand out before messaging massage therapists. Apparently a few of them attacked him on social media telling him to back off well before this was a story. That means Houston knew the whole time and in some ways, participated in helping him with his crazy obsession. I am SO GLAD that we didn't sign him, because this stuff is not going away. In case you haven't heard, there's two more cases filed and one is very ugly. Anyway, he's the video clip on the latest: What the 24th accuser is alleging (its the 1st two minutes):
More and more it seems like we dodged a bullet. Glad Ross didn't 'budge even further on this'. (Edit)
I haven’t been following it too closely after the initial complaints. Mainly because this whole thing is an absolute viper’s nest of wrongness, and I suspect it’s going to go the way of the Depp -v- Heard trial in that until you start put witnesses under oath, putting them to proof and cross examining them we’re not going to be able to tell the truth. Once the truth is out there then one side or the other will have a complete and crushing victory. So I’m sitting the circus out until the main show starts.
There’s no way he’s not suspended for at least 8 games this season. Between them not investigating whether there were more complaints out there and the insulating contract they gave him, the Browns are really looking bad here. So much so that they may eclipse Washington as the league’s cesspool. Thank whoever you want to that Miami never made a deal for him.
A couple years ago before there was word of him wanting to come to miami, I came on here and stated that I believed something is off with this dude, I labeled him ''party boy'' who is not what the media was painting him to be. When he said he wanted to come to Miami I was like oh boy, not a good combination watson in miami, firmly believed his interest in us were clubs and women.
Somehow I feel vindicated in my obnoxious opposition to him coming to Miami at the end of the 2020 season when folks were floating the idea. The Browns are going to really wish they been a bit kinder to Mayfield. It’s going to be a **** show in Cleveland this year.
Yeah, the Mayfield situation is a complete disaster. I get why they'd want a higher tier quarterback, who wouldn't, but you have to be open and honest about the situation while showing the player that he's still valued and respected. In Mayfield's case, it would have given him the chance to talk to other teams and pick where he wanted to go if he agreed to play this season. Maybe throw in a nice roster bonus as well for the year. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see if Mayfield shows up to camp (or if he has already). He has to be beside himself with that franchise and I think the city loves him even more for the pre-emptive narrative. I don't know if Baker ends up a starter somewhere else but I admire the kid for not completely trashing the organization and airing their dirty laundry. The city may ultimately rally behind Baker and insist that he's the starter- I think that would make one heck of a story if it rolls that way. There are things more important than winning and to me, not hiring DeShaun Watson is one of them. Just thinking about Miami being in this media frenzy of bad PR makes my head spin...so glad it's not us right now.
I've always kind of rooted for the Browns ever since the league effed them over by allowing the team to move to Baltimore, THEN effed them over again when they got an expansion team by changing the rules and making it ten times harder for them than it was for the Jaguars and Panthers. Not anymore. I hope they go 0-17.
With that insane guaranteed contract the Browns gave to Watson, they HAVE to move on from Baker after 2022. The only real question is if he is willing to play for Cleveland while Watson serves a season-long suspension. I'm guessing yes, just to prove to the rest of the league that he can be a starter for someone else in 2023. It would be more amusing to see him sit out the year though, and the Browns have to give up the #1 pick to the Texans. Houston might lock up picks #1 and #2 in the 2023 draft!
That would be comical- didn't even think about that aspect of it all. We've been rooting against the Texans every since the Tunsil/Stills trade to cash in on those picks. Now they'll be the ones cashing in on a player they never would have considered starting with the outside noise. I'm definitely rooting for the Texans to come out on top of that situation. On the other hand, the victims lawyers are now suing the Texans directly since they had knowledge of Watson soliciting women AND paid for the hotel rooms where many of these instances took place. So I'm not a Texans fan at the moment either, I just dislike them slightly less than the Browns at the moment.
I was already doing the mental calculations to decide whether I'd be a Dolphins fan had we gotten him with all of his baggage unsorted. I'd already determined that I wasn't going to watch the NFL if it wasn't to watch Miami. So glad that fell through. It's sad that Ross (and the other owners who were willing to sell their souls) had no problem with the optics, let alone with the message trading for him would send. I really hope he somehow is shown to be unjustly targeted in all of this, but until it's resolved, his is a case study for how malleable ethics are in sports.
My late Pops was a big Browns fan. I rooted for them against anybody but Miami. Now, folks at home are going to give me the side eye for rooting against them in the fall. This was avoidable.
That would be like hitting the Powerball for them - they could draft Young or Stroud, then ask for (and get) a king’s ransom for pick #2, giving them even more high picks! This could turn out to be the Tunsil trade x3, in their favor this time.
Now, there's talk about the Houston prosecutor working with Watson's lawyers on the presentation to the grand jury. A cop who thought he committed criminal offenses was allegedly left off the witness list because Tony Buzbee objected to it. I always suspected that the grand jury presentation was a token effort to provide cover for the prosecutor. This stinks to high heaven right now.
The grand jury typically spends about 10 seconds per case since they go through hundreds of them daily. Unless a high-powered lawyer is involved, there are no witnesses and no defense given on the evidence. Watson had those luxuries and it ultimately stopped the process from proceeding...because there is no spoking gun in this case. Remember though, this was about a few of the women, not 24 of them. Why didn't they proceed? Because if they arrested him and the grand jury threw it out, it's very difficult to re-file the same charges. So the prosecutor in this case rolled the dice with the grand jury, then put this case to the side in case better evidence comes out later. Despite what the media says, further prosecution is certainly still a possibility if enough evidence falls into place. Getting back to your original point, a grand jury is a token effort...an afterthought in the overall process.
Slightly off topic, but I wonder what Baker Mayfield's outlook would've been if he had gotten the surgery during the season last season? I mean this time last year a lot of people had the Browns circled for the Super Bowl with their roster and then Baker gets injured early on in the year, grits it out but looks rubbish for most of the season. In the alternate timeline where he doesn't tough it out, you get a Baker coming off of surgery which would put some teams off but wouldn't have last season's bad tape. I wonder whether that would've created more of a market for him when this ridiculous situation unfolded.
That reminds me of Tannehill's decision to rehab his knee instead of getting surgery before his last season in Miami. Might have gotten hurt anyway on that dirty play by Calais Campbell, but choosing to hold out from surgery has always stuck with me as a risky choice.
I thought 22 massage therapists was icky. But 66?! That’s a predator. And that 24th accuser described being raped. Maybe not technically rape but that’s what she experienced. He should be incarcerated. And his enablers also. And he should never get to play another NFL game. Ever
I think you meant Rusty Hardin who is Watson's attorney. Buzbee is the attorney for the various woman and he has said that the DA wouldn't even take his calls. This just seems like a powder keg waiting to explode and when it does it could take down more people than just Watson.
The story and cover-up here is starting to reach Ozark proportions. They should turn this into a movie and the proceeds should go to the victims.
Key and caculated words and phrases he says in his last presser ''I didn't force anyone'' and ''I never assaulted anyone'' we already know that you dumazz, that doesn't mean you weren't vulgarly suggestive or extremely perverted in the way you asked them to suck your ***** or jerk you off. dude thinks were stupid.
Ejaculating on someone against their will or consent is an assault. So according to multiple complaints, he assaulted several women. It's disgusting that charges were never brought against him. He would have had every right to defend himself against those charges and innocent until proven. These women deserve their day in court.
I agree that Mayfield is showing some "class" in the absurd situation he finds himself in. With our luck he'll end up as a backup to for the Jets and then pull a "Tannehill". - LOL
A "perfect" season for the Browns - LOL I actually feel bad for those poor self-destructive fools. They are so screwed up that I bet they could cause a river to catch fire and burn - whoops - they've already done that - LOL
It looks like he's pretty close to being traded to the Carolina Panthers, which is mind-bending all on its own! How can you trade a franchise QB when your other, newer franchise QB is about to be suspended? The levels of stupidity in this move defy logic.