All my Facebook memories in 2010 show proof of me straight-up trashing the guy. However, I spoke of this in a previous article and it proves even more true after the Cleveland Browns quarterback being officially named.

LeBron had validity.

What do I mean by that?

Well, the teams he carried throughout his first seven years of his career in Cleveland did not have much help. The ownership did nothing to allow him to become a true competitor and honestly, him carrying the 2007 Cavs to The Finals against the San Antonio Spurs should get the man an award of some sort with that terrible help.

Even so, at the time, obviously no one knew he’d come back and 2016 would happen with him coming through on a promise he made for Cleveland.

I never thought, in regards to sports and specifically in The Land, the pure hatred of a player or even a person just involved somehow would be more profound. Now it’s even disgust of the Browns themselves, because of this Deshaun Watson decision. What an absolutely stupid choice with no validity being made and so many reasons why this shouldn’t happen.

However, with LeBron, everyone hated him so much cause they certainly still wanted him leading the team. With Watson, this proved it’s exactly the opposite and the fans hate him so much because of his alleged past history, the waste of extremely high contract money, his straight-up horrific play on the field, his injuries and those comments he made against the fans of his team that should never have been made.

So, this is not like we’ve seen many times in sports. Where a player is not the most righteous man with his behavior, but despite that, the fans still love him because he is actually good at what he does on the field/court. Watson not only is a waste of so much money, but also failed to stay healthy and, worst of all, is straight-up not good when he does play.

LeBron was the exact opposite. Recently, I’ve spoken of how much I admire how LeBron carries himself as a person. Certainly, I didn’t love his recent team-choosing golf outing rage bait this basketball offseason. However, at least random women aren’t accusing him of terrible crimes.

Back in 2010, sure, social media existed. I posted on Facebook as a teenager and voiced my opinions. Now, with things such as Twitter X and such, it’s incredible to see just how much is out there, honestly. Looking around, I have never seen such blatant hatred for a man with valid justification as to why. LeBron was actually smart to go to Miami and it was just hard for us fans to admit that was the truth and he did prove it over the years.

But this is the worst part of it all. It wasn’t Watson’s choice, but the coaching staff and ownership that picked him, completely ignoring the fans’ views on the now-starter.

I honestly would not blame anyone for boycotting the Browns. I even saw people requesting suggestions on a different team to root for… Now, I will continue to root for the Browns and this isn’t trying to put myself on a high horse. Even when LeBron left, I still rooted for a Cavs team that was absolutely terrible without him.

But never in my life would I actually accept a person’s true idea of switching teams or just not caring. With this move by the Browns and its lack of validity, I am not surprised that a portion of a fan base of people likely loyal since they were born is so disgusted by this decision that they are willing to change their entire set of values when it comes to NFL Football.

As I said before, this is a 99-1 issue. Where very, very few fans have any means of defense for why it happened.

I am still in shock that this is how the lead-up to the season occurred. Still, I understand why I hated LeBron, but at least he had validity for his choice. Currently in Cleveland, it ceases to exist.

The post Deshaun Watson Vs. 2010 LeBron – This HUGE Difference appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

Like, I have made a lot of dumb decisions in my life; just ask my parents and brothers, but to actually be a part of this is embarrassing. Sure, many fans are just those that flip on the TV (nothing wrong with that), but Cleveland Sports and the Browns have been a lifelong passion for me and many others.

I posted a video on Twitter/X with my feelings (bottom of this article) and I am just shocked that this ownership and coaching staff went through with this decision after that fiasco on Saturday night by now-starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Here is my biggest part that angers me.

If this were a prime Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or any other elite quarterback that called out the fans in Watson’s way. Well, then I’d understand. Honestly, from a football-only view, Watson was awful on the field these first two preseason games. All the quarterbacks were…

Of course, Shedeur Sanders was not elite either, but what is the endgame for this team within the front office and staff?

Watson and the Browns could literally win both of the first two games on the road, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay, by a score of 30-0. Coming home with a 2-0 record and flawless play on the field by Watson and the team for week three against Carolina and the fans will not care.

The thing everyone hates the most is seeing the people they dislike have success. Sure, we’ll always be Browns fans, but I honestly think there will be fans that hate Watson so much, they’ll be happier if the team struggles. Additionally, it gives the Browns a better draft pick. Let’s be honest, that’s already on our minds.

I’ve taken such pride in being a Browns fan my entire life, as well as all of the other Cleveland teams too. I can’t believe they would give a man who downright called out the fans and basically acted as if he hates them a job.

This season is now going to be so much more than football and not in an inspirational way, such as your child becoming a huge fan seeing the success of a team. I don’t have children, but I’d be ashamed to have to allow them to watch Deshaun Watson. A man who shows exactly how not to live even with fame and fortune.

Honestly, I wouldn’t blame people for boycotting the Browns. Even if they somehow win. As long as Watson is the starting quarterback, or frankly even on the team.

But, hey. He wasn’t terrible, just somewhat terrible this preseason.

The post Browns: What Is Your End Game With Quarterback Choice? appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

I’ve been blessed my entire life to live with a financially comfortable family. We’re not billionaires or anything, but it’s been nice growing up this way. However, once I was diagnosed with epilepsy among other issues, I realized the saying “Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness” is so true.

What Deshaun Watson said in his postgame interview shocked me and I wrote about it in a previous article (link at bottom of this one). However, it’s not like he can go back in time and undo it.

So, what would I do if I were Deshaun Watson in the coming days, even before the Cleveland starter is announced?

I’d announce a plan for a new press conference where I am going to make a statement. In the statement, I would say that I was upset over my poor performance in that previous preseason game, want to improve my play before the regular season starts and I let out my internal feelings wrongly in the previous presser.

Then, I would explain that I truly like Cleveland and the fans but was still just upset about what happened in that injury booing moment.

I would then apologize and say I’m going to give it my best for the Browns, starter or not and hope for a great year.

Of course, it’s not like fans are going to start bowing down to him regardless of if this happens. But it will certainly help to repair what is seen so massively on social media…absolute hate. It’s gone beyond just the play and game of football due to his past and massive contract failure. That postgame disaster just ignited the fire.

Deshaun would never admit this publicly, but how can he be happy with himself even with all of that money and such? Type his name on Twitter X and it’s millions of fans bashing him to the extreme.

But, cool. Your earrings cost a lot. That wouldn’t matter to me if I were in your situation.

Why not make it so the opportunity is to redeem yourself with great play? Not theatrics that you caused. If you play well, people will change how they feel about you. But why not start now? What do you gain from staying silent or bashing even more?

Personally, I think this is already over, yet why not try to mend the relationship as soon as possible? Give a different perspective despite your past and the recent comments. Taking the high road is just going to make it all worse.

But congrats on the money you don’t deserve. Also known as – a failure. I’m not your therapist, but it’s this way, or the end of this awful nightmare is going to be even worse than it is currently.

PREVIOUS ARTICLE OF CLICK HERE

The post If I Were Deshaun Watson THIS Is What I’d Do appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

GUEST POST BY SHAWN FINK

TL/DR — DeShaun Watson’s post-game petulance should cost him any chance at being named the starter for the upcoming Browns’ season.

First things first, I don’t really care for DeShaun Watson OR Shedeur Sanders; I don’t think either of them can lead The Browns – or any other team for that matter – to a winning record, let alone a Super Bowl.

Having said that, we’ll learn a lot about Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, GM Andrew Berry, and first-year Head Coach Todd Monken in the next 48 hours or so.

The Browns are expected to name their QB-1 for the season, this Tuesday, and after the defiant, ego-fueled, clueless presser DeShaun Watson held after Saturday’s pre-season game, moving ahead with Watson as the starter for the season, as most analysts assumed was the Browns intention before the game, would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions that would dwarf any one of the countless of bad decisions Browns ownership, management, and coaches have made since 1999.

Watson was booed at several points during the third quarter of the game on Saturday, but denied that his inability to move the ball (5-12, 36 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 14.6 Rtg.) was the reason for the boos, declaring instead that the booing was not about “performance”, but was “personal” calling it and the fans “disrespectful”.

Newsflash, DeShaun, of course the boos were “disrespectful”, by definition, booing is an act meant to demonstrate disrespect, and to follow up on that concept, respect is something that is earned. In football, you earn respect through competent, skilled, talented, successful gameplay; along with humility, and in Watson’s case, contrition. None of those have been hallmarks of Watson’s tenure in Cleveland to this point, and none were on display Saturday at Huntington Bank Field during or after the game, either

Watson is, of course, the QB who has started only 19 games in four seasons since signing with the Browns, garnering what was at the time the highest-ever salary for an NFL player, after having sat out the entire previous season with the Houston Texans.

One can assume the “personal” reasons for the boos that Watson referred to are.

The allegations that forced his departure from Houston, where more than two dozen women had accused him of sexual assault.

Watson, without admitting guilt, settled all of the cases for undisclosed sums of cash before any of them went to court. Does Watson feel even a bit of remorse over those allegations? Apparently not: “I don’t regret anything in my life”, Watson also declared at the same presser Saturday evening. In between, he called out the fans for cheering when the feckless QB tore his Achilles in October 2024.

That brings us to the decision the Browns face. Since 1995, when Art Modell ripped The Browns out of Cleveland and moved them to Baltimore, no team’s fan base has been more hopeful or patient. Since 1999, the fans have been willing to- right or wrong – overlook nearly any character flaw, speeding ticket, criminal offense, etc. in a player, as long as they’re successful on the field. Every Browns fan knows the history of starting QBs since ‘99, and would gladly support any quarterback who can produce on the field and win games.

Watson’s defensive shots at long-suffering Browns fans clearly demonstrate that he’s not the right man for the starting job. His utter lack of respect for a long-suffering fan base and refusal to accept responsibility for his past actions and poor on-field play should be warning signs to everyone on the Browns’ payroll and to the team owners that Watson is incapable of being a leader or accepting responsibility upon himself.

The stain and stink of the deal to acquire Watson, and his subsequent tenure here, which set the team back more than half a decade, will linger long after his contract mercifully expires at the end of this season. Only a winning team with success in the postseason will eventually ease the taint and embarrassment that has been The Watson Era (or better yet, Error).

If the pundits are correct, and the unspoken goal of this season is a “dignified tanking”, which will enable the team to draft their QB savior from an incredibly deep QB class in the 2027 draft, then the starting QB’s skillset will have little impact on that outcome.

Shedeur Sanders is just as capable of losing games – without undue influence by the front office or ownership – as DeShaun is. The important question is whether this team’s owners and GMs care at all about character – and signing Watson in the first place calls that into question with regard to the Haslams – if they do, then Sanders represents the higher road and should be named the starter without any hesitation. Trading DeShaun is not an option because of his insane guaranteed contract; likewise, cutting him would cost the team a fortune in regard to the salary cap. Perhaps the fitting end to DeShaun Watson’s career and time with the Browns would be to relegate him to third on the depth chart, behind Dillon Gabriel.

GUEST POST BY SHAWN FINK

The post Deshaun Watson: It’s Been This Bad For Years appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

My parents and brothers every day tell me, “That’s an excuse.” So I’m used to the phrase. However, on a much different note, there were even excuses for LeBron James leaving Cleveland to join forces in Miami with the Heat.

Sure, at the time, it was the biggest transformation from love to hate that I have ever seen. I always say, be thankful LeBron decided to return to Cleveland after the city treated him for much of the four years after.

The quote that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said in the second preseason press conference that triggered all fans is, “It has nothing to do with the performance. It’s a little bit personal. I think that’s a disrespectful thing. I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. Just move on.”

I still can’t believe he let himself slip and admit his hatred for Browns fans that certainly reciprocate the feelings back to him. What’s even crazier is he has absolutely no excuses as LeBron did.

-LeBron was amazing all of his time in Cleveland to start his career.

-LeBron truly did not have a supporting cast to win the title.

-LeBron didn’t do anything allegicly illegal that made fans hate him.

—

You know with politics, people will say, “Oh, that’s an 80-20 issue.” This means 80% of all people agree. Well, I’m starting to think dislike and hatred for Deshaun Watson is a 99-1 issue. This means that there really aren’t any excuses for him to be liked still.

-First, there are those terrible allegations against him that people already disliked him because they came out.

-Next, he has been absolutely terrible when playing quarterback for the Browns.

-Additionally his contract is five years, 230 million dollars.

—

Now, this isn’t necessarily on him in getting hurt and missing over an entire season, but it is till a fact that it happened causing him to be useless, of course…

We all remember when LeBron returned back to Cleveland for the first time from Miami and that was absolutely wild. I think the hatred for Deshaun is going to be worse and the craziest part is he still is on the team everyone loves. That’s the difference between this and the LeBron hate.

Unlike Lebron, I don’t see a future of winning for Deshaun and he needs to leave by getting cut. I literally posted the idea of wondering iy fans possibly will be boycatting going to games or even not watching the team or buying merchandise because of this situation.

The Browns host the Patriots in the final preseason week this Thursday at 8pm. Yes, it is in Cleveland. I really wouldn’t be surprised if his reception is almost as bad as the LeBron return many years ago.

Scrolling through social media is insane just seeing the absolute vile and authentic hatred for Watson without anyone defending what he’s done or said. LeBron had his people that said the Cavs didn’t do its part. While ignored by most, it had its validity.

This one does not.

The post Deshaun Watson: The 2010 LeBron James Hate Wasn’t Even Like This appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

Well, when asked about the fans booing him during the game, he was straight-up with his answer and that actually shocked me. Keep in mind this came after obviously terrible play by him at quarterback. He said:

“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance. It’s a little bit more personal than that. So, I think it’s a disrespectful thing.”

Wow. I’m so used to the interviews with players where they give all the glory to God, say they have to work on their play, love all of their teammates and not being real with their responses. Usually, I admire being real. However, not in this case.

Now, the Browns really have no option but to start QB Shedeur Sanders, or the war against this team by its very fans is going to be a big one. I even just posted on X asking if fans would consider boycotting attending games if Watson is starting (displayed below).

I think this is getting to the 2010 LeBron James’ Return Game in Cleveland with Miami level. Fans will completely disregard the contests themselves and just hate on a player to that extent. This is even more so with Watson actually on the loved team and that’s what makes the circumstance different.

If I were Deshaun Watson this postgame, I would’ve simply admitted to playing poorly, which he absolutely did. Then, in regard to the booing, I give a whole speech about how it’s everyone’s right to do so and he has to be better to stop this from continuing.

He talked to the reporter like this was his private therapist, where you can say anything about anyone and it isn’t spread all over the world. That’s why I talk about my brothers to a therapist. Wait, what? HAHA….

He slipped.

Mister Cool, Calm and Collected Deshaun Watson let his feelings that have probably been around for many months go viral by publicly sharing them. And I can’t believe that he let it get to him so much that it happened.

I really think after this interview, saying something along the lines of a boycott isn’t just a silly joke. That fans will go as far as cancelling their season tickets, not buying merchandise and not even watching the games on TV.

The hatred was always there, in part, but a lot of fans, including myself, were willing to give him a chance to prove himself after all this time. Now, that’s gone.

From a football standpoint, the worst part is the other two quarterbacks in this competition are incredibly bad themselves. So it’s not like he’s stealing the show to begin with and that’s why people are mad.

This was personal and now it will be for life.

The post Deshaun Watson Started a War appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

It probably has its perks, but also the realization that not only are you older, but you have to find ways to fill the gaps in life. I, personally, am not at that stage but have had unique “circumstances,” we’ll say, that make me feel in a lot of ways what that type of life is…

Both Nick Chubb and LeBron James were/are both incredible players on Cleveland teams. Nothing about personality and respect, but purely play.

I wrote an article a while ago with the argument that maybe this LeBron delay to his announcement was representing him planning a retirement. While he did say in his written diatribe that he “thought he was done,” but that obviously changed with the 76ers signing; it shows the thinking was there…

Anyway, I’ve always loved Chubb for how straight up and mellow he is as a person despite his greatness in his sport for the Browns. He knew this was the time to retire and simply posted something authentic to end his career. The love for Chubb is not just me; it was displayed throughout the entire social media sphere and has been that way throughout his entire career.

LeBron. Chubb knew when it was time. What exactly are you doing here?

If you win a championship in Philly, every fan calls you a ring-chaser.

The only reasonable move I saw was the “storybook” return to Cleveland for a final run before hanging it up.

I understand playing basketball for you is part of simply the love for the game, but you yourself made it out to be for the best opportunity to win. This move pissed off the entire City of Cleveland and changes your legacy for life, even with some personal forgiveness from me, mainly due to the 2016 NBA Finals win.

Nick Chubb simply said it’s time to move on. I did what I can. I’m not making a huge show about this, but being straight up and authentic about my choice and ending my play. My big question about this quiet guy is if he’ll want to be on some broadcast for future games or an analysis on a network.

Nick, I should be like you and just stay quiet and normal. My parents and brothers would certainly agree.

Anyway, thanks for being one of my favorite players in my life for the Cleveland Browns. Your play was so incredible, but the way you carried yourself was even more admirable. I hope to see you contributing in the city within your means. I know you will be welcomed anywhere at any time. I can’t wait to hear about your next chapter.

And, hey. Maybe LeBron will invite you to go golfing sometime! HAHA

If interested, this is the link to my LeBron article forgiving him because of remembering 2016:

CLICK HERE

The post Nick Chubb Did What LeBron James Should’ve Done appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .

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SHOULD THE BROWNS BE “TANKING” SUNDAY’S GAME AGAINST THE STEELERS? CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS!!!!

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