Deshaun Watson was introduced as the Cleveland Browns quarterback during a news conference on Friday, answering questions alongside general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski.
It was Berry and Stefanski's first time speaking with the media since the Browns acquired the quarterback in a trade with the Houston Texans and Watson's first time addressing reporters since he was traded. Team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, who said they were out of the country, held a separate video press conference later on Friday.
Berry acknowledged that trading for and signing Watson to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract while the QB still faces 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct comes with scrutiny.
"We as an organization know that this transaction has been very difficult for many people, particularly women in our community," Berry said. "We realize that it has triggered a range of emotions. And that, as well as the nature of the allegations, weighed heavily on all of us.
"It was because of the weight of the anticipated reaction and the nature of the allegations that really pushed us to do as much work as possible, both internally and externally, in terms of understanding the cases and who Deshaun was as a person. It was through this, really, five-month odyssey and the information that we were able to amass, the reference work and obviously working through due process and the legal process, that got us comfortable pursuing a trade for Deshaun."
Jimmy Haslam said that while Cleveland was evaluating its entire roster as early as five months ago, the Browns did not "begin earnestly looking at what our options were, including Deshaun," until after the season. Haslam added that the decision to acquire Watson was "widely vetted throughout our organization, including ownership, but it was conceived by football operations."
This month, two Texas grand juries declined to file criminal charges against Watson. On March 11, a Harris County grand jury determined there was not enough evidence to charge Watson with a crime on nine allegations of sexual misconduct. On Thursday, a Brazoria County grand jury also declined to charge Watson on a separate criminal accusation. Watson remains under investigation by the NFL and could face a league suspension, but there is no timeline for a decision, with the 22 civil suits still pending.
Throughout Friday's 40-minute press conference, Watson reiterated his innocence, noting several times he never "assaulted" or "disrespected" any women.
The 26-year-old was asked how he can convince Browns fans he's not the person detailed in the lawsuits.
"I understand the whole circumstances is very difficult," he said. "Especially for the women's side of the fans in this community. I'm not naïve to that. I know these allegations is very, very serious, but like I mentioned before, I've never assaulted any woman. I never disrespected any woman. I was raised by a single-parent mom who has two aunties who is her sister. That's who raised me. I was raised to be genuine and to respect everyone and everything around me. So I've always defended that and I will continue to stand on that. I just want the opportunity to be able to show who I really am in the community and be hands on and help people and serve other people."
Watson was asked if he had any regrets with how the past year has unfolded.
"I don't have any regrets," he said. "Like I said before, the things that are off the field right now that came up caught me by surprise because I never did anything that these people are alleging. I know a lot of people said that I took the year off, and I used that to be able to clear my name, like the previous two weeks, and just continuing to fight that. And I just continue to work and become a better person and better player and just a better son, like my mom has always taught me."
Berry said the Browns conducted an extensive investigation into the quarterback and his legal situation, and that, upon advice from legal counsel, the team did not reach out directly to the 22 women who have filed civil suits against Watson.
"We were advised by our attorneys, we were advised against reaching out directly to the 22 women out of concern that it would be considered interfering with a criminal investigation," Berry said. "And it's this among several other reasons that made it important for us to use independent investigative resources that were unbiased and comprehensive, so that we could get a full picture and a full perspective of the criminal and civil cases."
Dee Haslam described the decision to acquire Watson "a really hard and difficult journey for us and our family."
"We knew going into this that this could be really hard on individuals that could trigger emotions from individuals that had been through sexual abuse," Dee Haslam said. "I just have to tell you, our compassion for those individuals is really deep. We know how hard this has been on them."
"I know we can both say, as can others in our organization, that we put more time, more thought, more effort, talked to more people, did more research on this decision by far than any other decision we've made with the Cleveland Browns," Jimmy Haslam said. "It's not something we took lightly -- it's something we took very seriously and we feel comfortable with the process we went through."
Watson acknowledged that he had upward of 40 massage therapists during his five years in Houston. Watson said multiple factors went into that strikingly high figure.
"I can't go too far into detail because there's an ongoing investigation still, but I can say that with this new day and age, especially with my age group, social media is a big business part that goes into it," he said. "So that's a factor into it. As far as the details, I can't get too far into it because there's an investigation going on. But hopefully, once everything is resolved, I can speak freely on it."
In light of the 22 civil cases alleging sexual misconduct, Watson was asked -- regardless of the outcome of the cases -- whether he'd consider counseling to show he's committed to ensuring nothing like this happens again.
"It's hard for me to say the counseling part because I don't have a problem," Watson said. "I don't have an issue. That's what I've been saying from the beginning. So this situation is definitely tough and it's very difficult, but me having a problem, going to counseling, things like that, I'm willing to talk to people about certain situations to make sure I'm not getting back in this. But like I said before, I never assaulted anyone, never disrespected anyone. I've always been respectful, and that's what I've always stood on and that's who I am as a person."
Dee Haslam said she hoped counseling is something Watson "would consider."
The QB said he intends to fight each allegation to prove his innocence and does not plan on settling the suits.
"That's the main focus that I want to do," Watson said, "is continue to show people who I really am and get my story out eventually."
