'Yeah, I'm going to boo him': Deshaun Watson returns to the football spotlight, where questions persist

HOUSTON -- At 10:08 a.m. Houston time, Cleveland Browns backmost Deshaun Watson walked onto the NRG Stadium tract to lukewarm up for his archetypal regular-season crippled successful precisely 700 days.

Within minutes, the gates opened and a smattering of Watson's No. 4 jerseys, successful Cleveland and Houston colors, dotted the stands astir him. One of those bluish No. 4 Texans jerseys, however, had been repurposed.

Stewart Mathieson, a Houston instrumentality from Scotland who tries to be a crippled each mates of years, bought his jersey erstwhile Watson was inactive throwing touchdowns for the Texans. He admitted helium was upset erstwhile Watson demanded a commercialized from Houston. But erstwhile the allegations of intersexual battle and inappropriate behaviour during massage sessions against Watson started surfacing, Mathieson says helium became outraged.

"I didn't cognize if helium was guilty," Mathieson said. "But past 24... women travel forward, there's thing there."

Along with his nephew, Mathieson bought pregame sideline passes for Sunday's game. He turned his Watson jersey into a statement, with the connection "JUSTICE 4 WOMEN" connected the backmost and "BROWNS SHAME" stitched beneath the No. 4 connected the front.

"In America, wealth tin bargain you justice. ... You tin bargain the champion attorneys," Mathieson said, soon aft walking past Watson's entourage -- which included Watson's agent, David Mulugheta, and selling manager, Bryan Burney -- hanging adjacent the Browns tunnel. "Some of my Browns friends [in Scotland] person fixed up supporting the squad due to the fact that of Watson. ... Am I going to boo him? Yeah, I'm going to boo him."

After serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL's idiosyncratic behaviour argumentation by committing intersexual assault, arsenic defined by the league, Watson returned to the tract against his erstwhile team.

Watson was suspended aft being accused by much than 2 twelve women of intersexual battle and different intersexual misconduct during massage sessions; immoderate of those women attended the game.

Behind a brace of antiaircraft touchdowns and a punt instrumentality score, the Browns defeated the NFL's worst team, 27-14. But the spectacle of Watson's instrumentality overshadowed all, including the last score.

Although NRG Stadium was half-empty, Watson was loudly booed earlier each Browns snap.

But until the crippled kicked off, it seemed arsenic if Mathieson mightiness beryllium booing alone, arsenic Watson supporters clamored for his autograph astir the little seating rim. During his pregame warmup, Watson walked implicit to the stands down the extremity zone, wherever a gaggle of Browns and Texans fans shouted for him to motion their jerseys and hats and adjacent asked to instrumentality selfies with him.

Sarah Flores, who said she became a Texans season-ticket holder due to the fact that of Watson, was among them. After getting her reddish Texans No. 4 jersey signed by Watson, she said she believed helium was "100%" guiltless of the allegations against him.

"Somebody arsenic palmy arsenic helium is would ne'er spell and jeopardize his vocation similar that," Flores said.

Other Browns fans walking into the stadium seemed to minimize the allegations with signs and T-shirts.

One antheral wore an orangish garment with "FREE WATSON" connected the beforehand and "ALL HE WANTED WAS A HAPPY ENDING" connected the back. He led a "Here we spell Brownies" chant alongside a brace of women donning brown-colored Watson jerseys arsenic they entered the stadium.

Then the crippled began. The booing started, and it didn't stop.

ON MARCH 18, the Browns traded for Watson, sending the Texans 3 first-round draught picks successful return. Cleveland past gave Watson a $230 cardinal afloat guaranteed deal, the richest declaration successful NFL history.

Donisha Greene, the manager of assemblage engagement for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, said her organization's phones instantly began ringing.

"It was truly heartbreaking astatine times due to the fact that you got your lifelong fans penning their notes and saying, 'I've been a Browns instrumentality for 29 years, and this is the archetypal play that I won't beryllium participating in,' truthful they'd donate the outgo of a play ticket," said Greene, who noted that the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has raised much than $120,000 since March from radical who said they were donating due to the fact that of Watson. "It was a beauteous almighty response, for sure."

Greene besides said during the play aft the Watson trade, the mean fig of calls they received from survivors tripled.

"Sometimes they were conscionable folks saying that, 'Hey, I've ne'er reported my intersexual assault, but I americium triggered by this story, and I conscionable wanted to telephone successful and speech astir it. I'm precise disturbed. I'm precise angry,'" Greene said. "Some survivors tin perceive this communicative and beryllium triggered, and beryllium angry, and it makes them relive their trauma. For different folks, it whitethorn marque them consciousness empowered and privation to instrumentality power of their healing successful a mode that they whitethorn person not been capable to bash before. That's astir apt wherefore you [saw] the fig of survivors going to the game. That's them lasting up for themselves and taking power implicit what they tin control, essentially."

Around 10 of the women who filed civilian suits against Watson attended Sunday's crippled on with their lawyer, Tony Buzbee, who said immoderate of his clients "thought it important to marque wide that they are inactive present and that they matter."

Brenda Tracy has followed the Watson lawsuit closely. Tracy was raped by 4 men, including 3 Oregon State shot players, successful 1998. She present travels the state sharing her communicative successful hopes of persuading coaches, athletes and administrators to instrumentality intersexual battle earnestly by adopting strict policies connected intersexual unit and prevention.

She called Watson's instrumentality to the tract "frustrating" and the antics of fans "defeating astatine times."

"People person minimized the interaction connected these survivors successful a truly detrimental way," said Tracy, who has spoken to much than 50,000 athletes, including 1 NFL squad -- the Baltimore Ravens. "Just making a mockery of the trauma and the symptom that these survivors person gone through. ... That's each unspeakable and disgusting, and each it does is conscionable further the minimization of the harm that helium did to different quality beings."

Watson has denied immoderate wrongdoing and, this past week, refused to reply immoderate non-football questions.

When Watson was asked Thursday astir fans who don't deliberation helium should beryllium the look of the franchise, a Cleveland vigor property who usually doesn't be Browns interrogation sessions mumbled nether his breath, "football questions only, dumbass."

Watson, who wasn't charged criminally, said successful August that helium wanted to archer his broadside of the story, but past said nobody's been funny successful proceeding it. On Thursday, helium was past asked if helium would archer his broadside successful time.

"At this time, I can't code immoderate of that stuff," helium said. "Who knows what the aboriginal holds, but close now, I americium truthful locked successful connected conscionable being the starting backmost for the Cleveland Browns."

Sunday, helium was pressed again connected whether helium had immoderate remorse for the behaviour that got him suspended.

"Of course, it's a pugnacious situation, the suspension was tough," helium said. "But astatine the aforesaid clip my main absorption was to conscionable effort to beryllium 1-0 arsenic a shot subordinate today."

Diane Mastnardo, a massage therapist based successful Cleveland, wrote an August editorial for Cleveland.com astir the misconceptions astir massage therapy successful the aftermath of Watson's announced suspension. She has been a Browns instrumentality her full life, but she hasn't gone to immoderate games this play due to the fact that of the Watson signing.

Mastnardo praised the "strength and courage" of the women who person accused Watson who showed up to Sunday's game.

But Mastnardo besides wants to perceive from Watson.

"I'm precise funny successful his broadside of the story, and I deliberation different massage therapists are funny successful his broadside of the story, without lawyers oregon media. If determination was an accidental to person a existent conversation, I deliberation that would beryllium amazing," she said. "I judge Deshaun did thing wrong, and I judge helium has the imaginable to redeem himself if we let him that potential. I don't deliberation the mode [the Browns and the NFL are] handling it gives him that ability."

WATSON SAID LAST week that helium wasn't definite however rusty he'd beryllium aft truthful overmuch clip distant from the field. He besides said helium wasn't disquieted astir the ambiance he'd brushwood successful Houston.

After Sunday's game, helium downplayed the booing but admitted to the rust aft completing 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards.

"I'll conscionable accidental I felt each azygous 1 of those 700 days," helium said.

Watson failed to pb the Browns to an violative touchdown and squandered Cleveland's champion touchdown accidental by throwing an intercepted walk successful the extremity zone.

"We're not going to clasp him to a brainsick modular and expect him to beryllium superman retired determination erstwhile helium hasn't played successful 2 years," Browns antiaircraft extremity Myles Garrett said. "He's going to yet get his bushed and marque the plays helium has successful the past."

Watson was asked whether helium expected to beryllium booed connected the roadworthy going forward.

"I'm not definite what it's going to be, and that's not adjacent my main focus," helium said. "My main absorption is truly conscionable doing my occupation astatine executing and conscionable trying to play each and each snap. There's a batch of radical that were showing support, but I didn't truly absorption connected the antagonistic things. I was focusing connected trying to execute arsenic overmuch arsenic I can."

Watson vowed to play amended successful adjacent weekend's crippled astatine Cincinnati. Then, helium walked retired of the interrogation room. Down the tunnel, helium collected his rollaway luggage, enactment connected his stocking headdress and got connected a squad autobus to permission Houston again.

That was conscionable good with astatine slightest 1 Texans fan, whose motion read: "I would alternatively beryllium 1-9-1 than person Deshaun Watson arsenic my quarterback."