I’ll be upfront here. I’m not a football fan, to say the least. Everything about it — the violence, the broken bodies, the brain damage, the ersatz patriotism, the racism, the misogyny — is a turnoff. Then there’s pouring of tax dollars into a sport owned by billionaires that studies have repeatedly found has no positive economic impact on markets where it’s played — and is usually a negative, due to the small number of games.
So I generally don’t pay attention to what’s going on with the Browns. I quickly scroll past friends’ comments on “the game.” But posts, columns and comments on the Browns’ signing of Deshaun Watson to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history — guaranteed! no matter what happens! — are inescapable. And it’s evoked an outpouring of contempt for and dismissal of women from commenters unable to look past their fandom.
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center released a statement reminding women that they are there to help if this is triggering. And it well might be. Virtually every discussion contains comments — sadly, many from women — claiming that the 22 women who have accused Watson of sexual imposition or assault are liars and just after money. They bring into clear focus why most rapes are never reported: in virtually every case, the woman is put on trial, not the man. It’s assumed she is lying or exaggerating, although that’s true only in a minority of the small number of cases reported, or that she did something to invite the assault. It’s assumed she wasn’t a good person or put herself in a compromising position so she “deserved” it.
There have been endless examples of how women are treated if they accuse a prominent man of a sexual offense. They are always publicly insulted, mocked and reviled, while the man, as a person of prominence, power and prowess, is presumed to be unfairly attacked. We’ve read about young women who have accused college athletes and THEY were asked to leave the school, after enduring personal attacks from fellow students and boosters: “How DARE they threaten our athletic hopes!” I guarantee that these 22 women are getting death threats on a daily basis. In fact, we see that they are being torn apart and demeaned as liars, their motivations questioned, in every Facebook feed. Can you seriously think they are enduring having their lives and reputations ruined for just for money, which they likely won’t get anyway?
Yes, many women will be triggered, understandably.
What’s also disturbing is the size of this lucrative contract, given that pouring Cleveland tax money into the team’s infrastructure helped make it possible, making the taxpayers of Cleveland complicit in this signing. If Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam can afford to take a risk and spend this pile of money on a player with a questionable background which suggests a questionable future, they don’t need to suck up hundreds of millions from America’s poorest city to buy themselves a fancy new scoreboard or whatever benefit they want next. As I mentioned above, football has no economic benefit to a city, and the “civic pride” argument has been blown out of the water by the signing of Watson, even though it’s a flimsy excuse for giving a billionaire our money to begin with.
And let’s not even fool ourselves that it’s all worth it if the team wins games. Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson put his own career on the line recently and came out publicly stating that the team paid him extra bonuses to lose games during the 2016 & 2017 seasons. And the National Football League is already facing widespread criticism and lawsuits for racial discrimination.
And the fact that the Haslams, as well as the team’s coach and general manager, each released a separate statement making excuses for the signing of this player shows that they are well aware of how bad it makes them look. But they’re clearly hoping the “civic pride” of the minority of Clevelanders who care about football will erase any queasiness once the team wins some games.
In Cleveland football, women are just collateral damage.
To support the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center: https://clevelandrapecrisis.org/support/donate-now/
COMMENTARY by CoolCleveland columnist Anastasia Pantsios
4 Responses to “COMMENTARY: Are Cleveland Taxpayers Funding A Sexual Predator?”
Nunya bizness
Taxpayers subsidize the stadium, not the salaries of any player.. That is just 100% fact.
Robert A Falkner
I understand and agree with most of what Anastasia is saying. But people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, FIRST AND FOREMOST. The fact that these Civil charges are being brought by ONE lawyer for all 22 complainants is a little iffy according to several lawyers I know who brought it up. BUT, I’m nauseated by the amount of guaranteed money he’s receiving! And, I’m pretty sure, Mr. Watson has done something wrong to garner 22 complaints from separate women regarding the same matter. We shall see how it plays out. And if the Haslems are so eager to win a Super Bowl that they forget about their players characters, that is unforgiveable! I will not support a team that hires criminals to play football for them. There are plenty of upstanding athletes out there to produce a winning season.
Kevin
Disagree, pro sports have a huge benefit to any city. All I have to say!
Mary Jepson
I wish this entire article could be published in The Plain Dealer, the Akron Beacon Journal and any and all other publications throughout northeast Ohio. It is a thoughtful and insightful true portfolio of a football team that puts winning above all else. We are no longer Browns fans.