Deshaun Watson Off the Field Thread

[Los216]

 

[bob2the2nd]

I actually don't disagree with this, but why keep your Instagram open and post there? Just odd decisions.

I mean i think we all know why he is keeping his instagram open....

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

So this is a legal question.

The fact that an NDA was provided at all indicates that the Texans were aware something was up, right?

Depends on what is meant by "something". For starters, what is their practice/policy for handing out NDA's?

Even if the texans are trying to maintain deniability in this issue, which i understand them wanting to do, would it not be an exceptionally weak argument "well watson came to us with a claim he was being blackmailed (best case argument), but we decided not to investigate it at all, and instead we just provided him with an NDA".

Depends on the facts. I have no idea how often players approach management with claims about members of the public or contractors causing issues. They are all very wealthy guys, many of whom are unsophisticated in terms of business, and unscrupulous people on the outside may seek to take advantage of that. My guess is the teams don't routinely send out investigators for every such incident. If there is a police report, or lawsuit instituted, a complaint made by the member of the public, or something that goes public, that's different.

But if he approach them first, they had no complaint from the member of the public, etc., then they probably aren't going to investigate, and may simply tell the player how to protect his legal interests. At that level, I don't believe it would be reasonable to conclude that the team knowingly did something wrong.

My own "guess" at this stage is that if the Texans believed Watson was engaging in improper conduct that could come back to bite him or the Texans in the ass, they would be far more likely to discourage him from doing that in the future than simply enabling it. That just seems like the more logical response to me, at least at that very early stage. But again, more facts are required.

In this context, the Texans should be questioned about what they knew at the time the NDA was handed out, and asked what were their reasons for doing so. I'd like to hear the answer to that before speculating as to their degree of fault.

Otherwise, we're acting like a clique of 8th grade girls who live to gossip and rumor-monger before actually knowing the facts.

 

[Steve_424]

I don't think anyone destroyed him or made him, "public enemy #1." We just discussed that he is immature, and things like those were evidence of it.

I would hope we're capable of enough nuance to mrecognize the different situations as different and independent.

I'd argue calling Watson a clown for making his twitter private is just as, if not more silly, "drama".

I mean, my "clown" comment is more of my complete view of Deshaun than it is for this one thing. But posting rap lyrics as some sort of denial on IG while simultaneously making your Twitter private is pretty silly.

But you're right, far bigger things to worry about when it comes to this dude.

 

[Selby]

I don't think anyone destroyed him or made him, "public enemy #1." We just discussed that he is immature, and things like those were evidence of it.

He and his family were receiving death threats on social media. Anyone who would dare come to Baker's defense got bullied, nicknamed "Baker Bros" and told to go find another team to cheer for. On this very forum he was called a cancer numerous times. There was little "discussion" because it was a giant circle jerk of Baker memes.

I know Baker wasn't a good QB and was immature, but that does not excuse our fanbase for treating him like complete shit over the last 8 months. Honestly, it was embarrassing.

 

[Ohio]

I'd argue calling Watson a clown for making his twitter private is just as, if not more silly, "drama".

Forreal. Imagine actually giving a shit about the privacy of an athlete's social media, and going so far as to calling him a “clown” for choosing his basic human right to be private.

Peak 2022 stupidity.

 

[Cassity14]

He and his family were receiving death threats on social media. Anyone who would dare come to Baker's defense got bullied, nicknamed "Baker Bros" and told to go find another team to cheer for. On this very forum he was called a cancer numerous times. There was little "discussion" because it was a giant circle jerk of Baker memes.

I know Baker wasn't a good QB and was immature, but that does not excuse our fanbase for treating him like complete shit over the last 8 months. Honestly, it was embarrassing.

This is equivalent to me taking everything Curious Minds writes about Watson and applying it to this forum as a whole.

 

[Selby]

This is equivalent to me taking everything Curious Minds writes about Watson and applying it to this forum as a whole.

You: "I don't think anyone made Baker public enemy #1 or destroyed him."

*Baker receives death threats on social media and is constantly bashed by ~80% of Browns fanbase*

You: "False equivalence!"

 

[Ohio]

Twitter is not real life, folks.

 

[Cassity14]

You: "I don't think anyone made Baker public enemy #1 or destroyed him."

*Baker receives death threats on social media and is constantly bashed by ~80% of Browns fanbase*

You: "False equivalence!"

No, I was making a point that must have gone over your head.

What you alleged prior was that there was "no discussion," and everyone on this forum was mindlessly bashing Baker. As someone who participated in more nuanced discussion than that, I completely disagree. I don't think you're intentionally misrepresenting what happened, but I believe you're only referring to part of the picture when you casted that judgement.

I came up with the most obvious and recent example I could and presented it in that way as a comparison to what I thought you were doing with regard to this specific forum.

You go on to talk about, "80% of the fanbase," but how in the world are you coming up with that? Scrolling through some tweets? Listening to 92.3 for 25 minutes a day? And you think those things destroyed Baker Mayfield?

As for death threats and athletes (really just celebrities in general), it's unfortunate, but that's a pretty common thing. Some of them just talk about it more than others. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of high profile professional athletes have received messages like those, so I'm not willing to go down the path of, "poor Baker," and, "this fanbase," specifically in that regard.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Twitter is not real life, folks.

True. But unfortunately, Twitter can have a very real impact on real life.

 

[Cassity14]

Twitter is not real life, folks.

Thank you.

What gets me is how people can be a part of a forum as great as this one and then project twitter trolls' and radio callers' shallow opinions on posters here.

I don't know about any of you, but this is literally the only place I come to discuss sports because every other option fucking blows.

 

[Vee-Rex]

I can't believe anyone can sit here with a straight face and say or insinuate that Baker was not "destroyed by anyone".

I mean... the Baker thread is literally just a few topics down, folks. Hundreds of pages of content there. It's disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

 

[bushwick_bill]

I actually don't disagree with this, but why keep your Instagram open and post there? Just odd decisions.

Well that too, he should be completely off social media and keeping as low as a profile as possible until he can play...

 

[Selby]

No, I was making a point that must have gone over your head.

What you alleged prior was that there was "no discussion," and everyone on this forum was mindlessly bashing Baker. As someone who participated in more nuanced discussion than that, I completely disagree. I don't think you're intentionally misrepresenting what happened, but I believe you're only referring to part of the picture when you casted that judgement.

I came up with the most obvious and recent example I could and presented it in that way as a comparison to what I thought you were doing with regard to this specific forum.

As for death threats and athletes (really just celebrities in general), it's unfortunate, but that's a pretty common thing. Some of them just talk about it more than others. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of high profile professional athletes have received messages like those, so I'm not willing to go down the path of, "poor Baker," and, "this fanbase," specifically in that regard.

I used the term "little discussion" in my post, which implies there were a handful of people actually trying to have a discussion. Unfortunately it was usually drowned out by memes, which admittedly came from the same 2 or 3 people - so you do have a point there.

My point is you said no one made Baker public enemy #1, which simply is not true. There are plenty of people I know, not just on this forum, but in my actual friends circle who hate Baker and it feels like that hate is on a personal level. They keep tabs and dunk on him any chance they get. This isn't the same as when DeShone Kizer or Brandon Weeden got cut and we made a few jokes before moving on. People seem to be taking joy in Baker's humiliation. He was a cancer, he was selfish, he wasn't a team player - these are comments I've seen/heard a lot on here, Twitter, and in my friends circle. Comments like that make it sound like he was in fact public enemy #1 to at least some.

People can say "Twitter isn't real life" and that is true. Twitter does not always give you a good reference to how a majority of people think. But if you go to the Muni Lot in a few months and start chanting "Fuck you Baker" I guarantee you get most people around you joining in. There will be custom t-shirts, altered jerseys, tailgate decorations mocking Baker - similar to what we may have seen when Lebron left.

Clearly we won't agree on this, so thanks for the discussion.