Ownership won’t be present for Deshaun Watson’s…
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The people most responsible for brining Deshaun Watson to Cleveland will be absent for Watson’s official introduction to his new town.
When Watson conducts a press conference at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, he’ll be joined by G.M. Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski. Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam won’t be present.
Instead, and as noted by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Haslams will be available by video conference at 3:00 p.m. ET.
It’s a strange compromise. They know they can’t hide completely, so they’ll do a separate appearance — after Watson, Berry, and Stefanski face the music without them.
Make no mistake about it. Watson is a Brown because the Haslams agreed to fully guarantee every penny of a five-year, $230 million contract. If they hadn’t given the green light to that move, Watson quite possibly would have gone elsewhere. They need to be there, when Watson sits down to answer questions. This ultimately is their doing.
As mentioned earlier this morning, the Browns knowingly assumed a short-term problem in the hopes of having a long-term solution at quarterback. That doesn’t make it OK for the people most responsible for Watson’s arrival to avoid being present for Watson’s introduction to Cleveland.
It’ll also be interesting to see how things go today, from the questions posed to the answers provided by all persons involved. However it goes, it would be a lot more smooth for everyone concerned if the 22 cases were settled before the press conferences begin. Obviously, however, it’s far too late for that.
Ownership won’t be present for Deshaun Watson’s introductory press conference
