CLEVELAND — It’s been three years since allegations of sexual assault clouded Deshaun Watson’s career with uncertainty. Watson was then the Houston Texans’ quarterback, but the Cleveland Browns picked him up in 2022 in a controversial trade after public backlash, suspensions and injuries.

This will be the season the team and fans find out if he’s worth the $230 million price tag. In 2022, Watson signed what was then the largest deal in NFL history. 

What You Need To Know

  • Browns fans talk about how they feel about Deshaun Watson now
  • Dana Dakdouk said Watson should not play until the situation is figured out

  • Unique Brown said he does not care what Watson does in his personal life as long as he delivers for the team

Fans like Dana Dakdouk are outraged and said she’s never fully supported the team with him on it.

“It’s just not the same for me. I wish they were doing something else. I’m not going to be supporting him, I’m not going to be buying a jersey of his, at least not until it all gets figured out. The games won’t be as fun to watch. I’m just really disappointed in how they’re handling everything,” she said.

Being a Browns fan runs in Dakdouks family. She said this is a time of year she usually looks forward to.

"Football has been in my life as long as I can remember. My dad and my brother are obsessed with it, so naturally, I am in the loop," she said.

Watson served an 11-game suspension in 2022 for allegations over sexual misconduct, but Dakdouk said that’s not enough.

“First and foremost, I don’t think he should be allowed to play football until it’s all finalized and there is an answer for everything,” she said.

But other fans, like Unique Brown, are ready to support their team in full swing this season, even if it means putting this behind them.

“Listen, I think he’s a great guy. We all make mistakes in life. Whatever the man accused of doing or whatever, that’s his personal life, we looking for the best team on the field, produce the best on the field. That’s what we as born fans care about — not your personal life. We not judging you,” he said. 

Brown and Thomas Whitman are co-founders of Ohio Everything, a marketing sports retail company with hundreds of browns fan gear and said they’ve had no problem selling Watson merchandise.

As for Dakdouk, it’s the bigger picture of separating the football field from reality.

“There is real life and then there is football, and it goes to show you things that people should get punished for have should repercussions for very serious things,” she said. “They kind of just get swept under the rug just because they’re a good football player and it kind of just tells you us as America what our priorities are.”