On Thursday, it was announced that Browns QB Deshaun Watson has been suspended for 11 games to his sexual assault and misconduct allegations. Once the suspension was announced, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam released a statement. But then, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam really upset people.
“As we have previously conveyed, Deshaun and his representatives have abided by the NFL and NFLPA structure awaiting a final decision and we have respected the process. Now that a decision on discipline has been reached, we understand this is a real opportunity to create meaningful change and we are committed to investing in programs in Northeast Ohio that will educate our youth regarding awareness, understanding, and most importantly, prevention of sexual misconduct and the many underlying causes of such behavior. Since Deshaun entered our building, he has been an outstanding member of our organization and shown a true dedication to working on himself both on and off the field. We will continue to support him as he focuses on earning the trust of our community.”
But, this statement here wasn’t what made people mad. Later that day, Jimmy Haslam went ahead and said this during a press conference:
“I think in this country, and hopefully in the world, people deserve second chances. I really think that. Is he never supposed to play again? Is he never supposed to be a part of society? Does he get no chance to rehabilitate himself? That is what we are going to do. We think people deserve a second chance.”
And then following that statement, he brought up giving Kareem Hunt a second chance after his legal issues.
https://twitter.com/clevelanddotcom/status/1560314545339617280?s=20&t=GiT790-00D2zYd4CdqNIpg
Response to Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam
This statement caused a flurry of discussion all over the place. Most people agreed that people do deserve second chances, but they did not agree with the statement as a whole, with some responses looking like this:
https://twitter.com/KellanWhite/status/1560366018932969478?s=20&t=GiT790-00D2zYd4CdqNIpg
This is a difficult situation for the Browns to be in. No matter what a Browns owner says about Deshaun, it will have a possibility of becoming a problem.