Didn't They Just Go and Do It?

My grandmother had a signature saying we always used to tease her about. Whenever someone did something wrong, she'd say, "I told them not to do it. Now, didn't they just go and do it?"

photo courtesy of Joe Ginley

After my blog last week about how society gives lip service to women on one hand while slapping them down with the other, the Browns provided a classic example to validate my postulating.

Deshaun Watson has been accused by 22 women of sexual misconduct or sexual assault. While the grand jury declined to criminally charge Watson for nine of the incidents, thanks to the "boys will be boys" and "he said, she said" school of law, there remain outstanding civil suits against the quarterback.

None of this prevented the Cleveland Browns from trading three first round picks for 2022, 2023 and 2024 – and even more. The Browns then signed Watson to a plum 5-year contract for $230 million, fully guaranteed. 

So much for the Browns' Twitter post on International Women's Day giving a shout out "to the incredible women that help make it all possible." Said women now have a view from under the bus.

Well, business is business after all, and the specter of a winning team was just too much for our "never-made-it-to-the-Super Bowl" franchise. Clearly, they no longer espouse their 2020 mantra, "Tough, Smart, Accountable."

Still, making a deal with the devil comes with consequences. Losing a percentage of their fans probably won't matter much to them. As for me, I'm mostly a fan by association, so they won't care what I think. But Mr. Ginley and my son were lifelong fans.

Yes, I said, "were." Both are incensed over the newest Browns player, and I couldn't be prouder of the two of them. They've packed away their Browns gear and won't be wearing it anytime soon.

Let's go Guardians!