After Deshaun Watson blamed the media for reporting on his sexual assault allegations, Dan Patrick highlighted that it was a bad position for the Cleveland Browns quarterback to take.
Watson spoke to reporters after the Browns opened training camp over the weekend and he attempted to play the victim, faulting the media for his tarnished reputation. Last season, Watson was suspended by the NFL for 11 games after more than 20 women accused him of sexual misconduct over the past several years. Watson, however, wants the media to focus on his tough upbringing as a sort of inspirational story rather than “directing a narrative of something else.” Something else being the accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
“You can’t be blaming the media. Not for the coverage, what happened, any of it… You did all of this stuff. We just brought it to light.”
-Dan on Deshaun Watson pic.twitter.com/0iMVVJjCOd
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 25, 2023
“He can’t be blaming the media. Not for the coverage, what happened, any of that. He has to just avoid these landmines,” Patrick said. “You don’t want to create a headline here. You’re a quarterback on a team that right now is polarizing, it feels like. They’re not must-see TV. If DeShaun Watson didn’t have this off the field, then he would be a must-see quarterback.”
The suspension is behind Watson, but his off-the-field issues shouldn’t and can’t be ignored. There was no narrative spinning on Watson, there was only reporting on the accusations and civil lawsuits. And because the off-field history can’t be ignored, Patrick wonders whether networks even want to broadcast the quarterback’s games nationally.
“I don’t know how many times the Browns are going to be on national TV, but if I’m a network executive–CBS, NBC, ESPN–how many times do you want them?” Patrick asked. “Because you kind of have to jump into that conversation a little bit. You don’t want to say, ‘He’s a great guy,’ or ‘I’ve known him.’
“You want to present the facts, but then how much time do you spend on something like this? Your pre-game show? Nobody wants to hear that DeShaun Watson, ‘the media was out to get him.’ We want to see him play football. But even then, I don’t know if people are rooting for Deshaun Watson…when it comes to Deshaun Watson, you can’t play the blame game. You were a creep, you got caught.”
Last season, Al Michaels was criticized for skating around the reason for Watson’s suspension during Amazon’s Thursday Night Football coverage of a September game between the Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. At some point in the future, the national media might not feel obligated to reference Watson being accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women every time he’s on national TV. But Watson continuing his attempt at playing the victim, instead of taking accountability or showing remorse, should prove why it’s necessary for conversations about the accusations to continue.
