The Saga of Deshaun Watson

[bojanglesman]

They're not getting out of the trade, it's done and finished.

The suggestion is that the 24th case could enable the Browns to get out of the guarantees as only the first 23 were known at the time of the deal, and apparently 23 cases is no impediment to paying a rapist $230M to make football go brrr, but a 24th case is a step too far.

Laws don't have to fit ethics or even common sense.  Just technicalities.

[Johnny English]

Laws don't have to fit ethics or even common sense.  Just technicalities.

I don't see the Browns doing it though. The damage is already done, and cutting him because they find a loophole doesn't fix their reputation any. Might as well commit to the whole shitty mess now and hope that in a few years he's performing well enough on the field to at least provide themselves with some kind of justification for it.

[bojanglesman]

I don't see the Browns doing it though. The damage is already done, and cutting him because they find a loophole doesn't fix their reputation any. Might as well commit to the whole shitty mess now and hope that in a few years he's performing well enough on the field to at least provide themselves with some kind of justification for it.

I agree.  They can't get the picks back anyway.  The Browns are somewhat shielded by the fact that he hasn't been convicted legally, so they can just hide behind that for now.  If he doesn't lose the lawsuit, fans will forget and he'll still be a star.  That's just reality.  The NFL isn't as lucky, they will have to punish him regardless of the legal outcome.

[Heismanberg]

The Browns are somewhat shielded by the fact that he hasn't been convicted legally, so they can just hide behind that for now.

No, they can't. 

[bojanglesman]

No, they can't.

Why can't they?  Of course people are gonna excrement on the Browns, but they can tough this out and just say they are waiting for the investigation to play out.  Their fans overall won't stop being fans.  The NFL won't be able to wait. 

I just can't see the Browns doing anything before the legal crap plays out. 

[Heismanberg]

They are losing fans over this

[bojanglesman]

They are losing fans over this

If he plays well they will come back.  It won't matter.

[mj2sexay]

I agree.  They can't get the picks back anyway.  The Browns are somewhat shielded by the fact that he hasn't been convicted legally, so they can just hide behind that for now.  If he doesn't lose the lawsuit, fans will forget and he'll still be a star.  That's just reality.  The NFL isn't as lucky, they will have to punish him regardless of the legal outcome.

Trevor Bauer wasn't convicted either. That still hasn't stopped baseball from instituting a two year suspension.

For the Browns to pay the price they paid without having finality on this is just absolutely freaking amazing. Total organizational malpractice. And it's not like they were the only interested party!

[bojanglesman]

Trevor Bauer wasn't convicted either. That still hasn't stopped baseball from instituting a two year suspension.

For the Browns to pay the price they paid without having finality on this is just absolutely freaking amazing. Total organizational malpractice. And it's not like they were the only interested party!

MLB is not NFL

[mj2sexay]

MLB is not NFL

True, but you're just absolutely rolling out the red carpet to a PR nightmare by comparison with either no action or a light suspension.

[bojanglesman]

To be clear, I'm not arguing that the NFL shouldn't punish him now, I'm saying the Browns don't need to do anything before the NFL does.  People are shitting on the Browns for not doing anything yet as well as the NFL.

[mj2sexay]

,I'm saying the Browns don't need to do anything before the NFL does.  People are shitting on the Browns for not doing anything yet as well as the NFL.

I agree completely, If I were the Browns I'd do absolutely nothing. It's the NFL's job to hand down punishment. There's nothing to gain by being proactive on that front.

At the same time, I just question the wisdom of paying the price they did in picks and in dollars on a new contract to someone who has this much of a controversial situation hanging over their head. 

[bojanglesman]

I agree completely, If I were the Browns I'd do absolutely nothing. It's the NFL's job to hand down punishment. There's nothing to gain by being proactive on that front.

At the same time, I just question the wisdom of paying the price they did in picks and in dollars on a new contract to someone who has this much of a controversial situation hanging over their head. 

I guess we'll find out when the punishment comes down.  You could argue that a punishment of anything less than a season is probably worth it strictly from a talent standpoint.  Fans find a way to get over all kinds of bad excrement players do.  It isn't right, but it's reality.  A couple of good years of play from him and fans will not only forget it, they will joke about it.  When has a fanbase ever completely turned on a team because they signed a douchebag that did horrible things?  They cry about it for a little bit then throw on their jersey and go to the stadium.

[Johnny English]

To be clear, I'm not arguing that the NFL shouldn't punish him now, I'm saying the Browns don't need to do anything before the NFL does.  People are shitting on the Browns for not doing anything yet as well as the NFL.

People are shitting on the Browns for trading for him and giving him that incredible contract, including the sanction-skirting first year, not for not subsequently taking punitive action against him.

[CatoTheElder]

Things people are shitting on the Browns for:

1. Doing dumb Browns excrement
2. Doing dumb Browns excrement to the benefit of a man currently accused of sexual assault by 24 women.