Off-season thoughts (Vol. XXXII)

It is time. In fact, it is high time owner Jimmy Haslam III, General Manager Andrew Berry and Chief Strategy Office Paul DePodesta of the Browns stop acting like cowards and come out from their commodious Ivory Tower offices and talk through the media to their constituents.

The fans need and deserve to know what's going on. The silence from 76 Lou Groza Blvd in Berea is deafening.

This whole Deshaun Watson thing is getting way, way, way out of hand. In case the club hasn't  noticed, its $230 million quarterback is piling embarrassment after embarrassment upon the team, reducing it to a laughingstock.

The next positive article I see about the situation in Cleveland will be the first. It has met with near universal disdain in the media. Is Haslam walking around with blinders on these days?

It was bad enough the Browns traded for and then signed Watson despite 22 female massage therapists filing civil suits for sexual harassment against him. Or bad enough when numbers 23 and 24 joined the already overcrowded docket in the last week. 

Maybe the well-documented New York Times story the other day caught Haslam's attention, revealing Watson had contacted at least 66 massage therapists in a 17-month period from the fall of 2019 to the spring of 2021. It was a damning piece with specifics of Watson's personal sexual behavior sprinkled throughout.

Sixty-six!!

In rationalizing the controversial signing, Haslam and his cohorts several times initially cited "extensive" research over a five-month period when the decision to go after Watson was made. That included personal interviews with quarterback.

So much for the club's "extensive" research. I'd be surprised the Browns knew about that eye-opening total. Maybe it's my bias for strong, well-documented investigative pieces by one of the planet's most respected newspapers, I'll side with them just about every time.   

Haslam said he found Watson "humble, sincere and candid" during the interview process and declared he and his front office "confident in Deshaun and excited moving forward with him as quarterback and supporting his genuine and determined efforts."

After citing the extensive nature of the investigation, Berry curiously declined to reveal specifics at the news conference announcing the signing. He pointed out the legal and reference work "provided us with the appropriate information to make an informed decision about pursuing him."

Wonder if Haslam and his wife, Dee, feel the same way now following the NYT revelations. We don't know, of course, because the club has trotted out poor head coach Kevin Stefanski instead to face the tough Watson questions, a situation that suggests it probably isn't part of his job description.

All he wants to do is talk about his team but can't because his quarterback's story is much bigger now and dwarfs everything else. All he can do is repeatedly -- and respectfully -- decline to answer directly, preferring instead "to be respectful of the legal proceedings." It's like a broken record. And worthless.

It's all because his bosses have decided to play hide and seek, causing just about everyone with any remaining interest in this soap opera to speculate what the end game will be. It also would not be surprising if the Times story affected those fans on the fence immediately following the signing.

To his credit, Watson has been consistent in claiming his innocence as the allegations have continued. "I've never assaulted or disrespected or harassed any woman in my life," he insists over and over. "I've never done those things people are alleging."

The unfortunate part of this saga is the likelihood of it eventually going away lessens with each new revelation. And right now, given what has transpired in just the last week, we have no idea when that will be.

And that's the saddest part of all.