Myles Garrett: Deshaun Watson is 'a model citizen', fans who booed him should be ashamed

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett defended quarterback Deshaun Watson today and chided fans who booed Watson as he was carted off the field with a hamstring injury.

During his postgame press conference, Garrett defended Watson not only as a player but as a person, despite the long list of women who have accused Watson of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

“Humans do pretty much everything right. He was a model citizen in both college and the pros,” Garrett said. “We can’t look down on the guy because of mistakes he made on the field or anything off the field. We have no moral reason to look down on the guy.”

But calling Watson a “model citizen” contradicts everything that came to light about him in 2021, when 22 different women came forward to say he used their services for therapeutic massages and then sexually assaulted them or sexually harassed. Watson was not criminally charged, but he settled the women's lawsuits, and the NFL's investigation found those allegations were credible enough to suspend him for the first 11 games of the 2022 season and fine him $5 million. dollars to pay.

Garrett wants his teammates to be supported when they're injured, and he found it off-putting to hear some fans booing while Watson was on the ground and then taken off the field with what looked like a season-ending injury.

“We don’t boo guys who are hurt on the field, especially when the car comes out,” Garrett said. “We should be ashamed as Browns and as fans for booing anyone for their demise. To be a season- and career-altering injury, the man isn't perfect, nor does he have to be. None of us expect to be perfect. I can’t judge him for what he does on the field or off the field because I can’t throw stones out of my glass house, but we have to do better.”

It's understandable that Garrett would never want to hear boos for an injured player, but claiming that Watson can't be judged for his off-the-field actions doesn't hold water given everything we've learned about Watson's off-the-field actions . Garrett is right to say that Watson shouldn't be booed for his poor play on the field when he's suffering from a serious injury, but fans are well within their rights to boo Watson for everything they know about him off the field.