Saturday was not a great day for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on the field or off of it, as the veteran quarterback was booed by the home fans as he struggled during the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, and then he drew some heavy criticism after he lashed out at those fans during the postgame press conference.
Despite all of that, the Browns have gone ahead and named Watson the starting quarterback anyway, sparking widespread outrage from the sports world.
Browns Name Watson the StarterWatson was booed by the home crowd during the preseason loss to the Bills as he completed just 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards and an interception during four second-half drives.
After the game, Watson was asked about the fan reaction, and he had a pretty blunt message for the fans, calling the reception “disrespectful” and claiming that it had nothing to do with his performance on the field.
“The whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said after the game via ESPN. “It’s a little bit [more] personal than that. So I think it’s a disrespectful thing. So yeah, I mean, I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And yeah, just move on.
“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fanbase, they cheered when I got hurt,” Watson later said. “So what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially for your own city, and they cheer?”
The rift between Watson and the city seemed so clear that some suggested the team should part ways with him immediately. Instead, the team named him the starting quarterback.
‘Rotten to its core’Needless to say, this decision from the Browns sparked widespread outrage from the sports world as the team was absolutely torched by fans and media.
“The Cleveland Browns franchise is rotten to its core. It doesn’t matter who is coaching or who they bring in to play, it’s a natural vortex of incompetence and mediocrity. It’s a disease. And the people of Cleveland deserve better,” wrote Ari Wasserman of On3.
“Look, Deshaun Watson is a terrible person, and he’s actively antagonizing the loyal Browns fans still willing to pay money to see this team, and he’s not a part of the future of the franchise, and he’s untradeable. But you’ve gotta admit: He’s also absolutely awful at football,” wrote Rodger Sherman.
“Cleveland Browns playing 17 straight away games this season,” wrote prominent NFL commentary account NFL Memes.
“First Browns home game isn’t until week 3. Quite possible that this changes by then, lest they feel the wrath of Muni lot,” wrote Brett Kollman of All 32.
“There’s gotta be something wild going on there behind the scenes,” wrote Connor Hughes of SNY.
“After everything that happened this weekend to still throw this guy in our face is absolutely insulting. Browns fans deserve better. Cleveland deserves better,” wrote Noah Olson of At The Office.
We’ll have to see what kind of reception Watson gets in Cleveland. Based on the preseason game, it won’t be a good one.
The post ‘The Cleveland Browns franchise is rotten to its core’: Browns spark outrage with Deshaun Watson decision appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
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