CLEVELAND — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been rehabbing his shoulder after having surgery to repair a fracture last month—but that didn’t stop him from bringing some holiday spirit to Cleveland children.
On Saturday, Watson hosted around 300 children from across Northeast Ohio for his inaugural Christmas Around the World event through his Deshaun Watson Foundation.
Today #Browns QB Deshaun Watson hosted around 300 kids from several local organizations and groups to celebrate the holidays with his inaugural Christmas Around the World event in Cleveland.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) December 23, 2023
Kids got to taste globally inspired food, play games, dance and take home gifts. pic.twitter.com/7lWNvtgBGZ
Held inside the Cleveland Marriot Downtown, hundreds of kids whom Watson has worked with through events and numerous organizations were invited to celebrate the holidays with festive activities, stations and food tastings.
From Italy and Jamaica to China and Greece, kids had the opportunity to try new foods and dishes inside the winter wonderland-themed venue.
The kids, who came from church, youth football and other groups, danced all afternoon to a live DJ, meeting new friends. They played video games and basketball at some stations and got their faces painted at others. There were holiday photo opportunities for families to snap a pic and even an appearance from Santa Claus.
As Watson walked through the event, kids stopped him for pictures and autographs.
"Deshaun, we were so excited because I've never ever seen a football player that in person," said 12-year-old Ti'Shear Gardner.
Another young participant, Heaven Foster, was just as excited.
"He signed photos, it was really fun," she said. "I just love it."
When the kids left the event, they each got a Christmas gift bag with several presents inside for them to take home.
“I mean, it's amazing. It's a great opportunity for me to be able to just give back to all these kids that I met earlier this year through football or through a church, through youth football league, and then through a church service that I attended back at Shallow earlier this year. But just being able to build relationships, build throughout the community, and just give back. This is a perfect opportunity. When I was a young kid in in their shoes," Watson said.
Watson has been away from Cleveland for the past month, doing his rehab in Los Angeles, where the surgery was performed. But he's been in contact with his team and is happy to be back in the city, not just for his holiday event but to reconnect with his team after they return from their weekend trip to Houston.
"I'm always excited to be around my brothers and my teammates and see those guys work and I'm going to be right there with 'em and supporting 'em and just keep pushing forward," Watson said. "It's always tough just to be away from the teammates and just the game of football. You work so hard to be a part of it. But at the same time, injuries happen and you just got to be able to deal with the outcome that comes with it. But I'm very supportive, and the guys got to keep rolling because they're on fire right now.”
While Watson supports the Browns from off the field, he's also making sure to support Cleveland with events like the Christmas Around the World event—which he says is the first of many he'll hold here in the city.
The kids are happy about that.
"I feel so happy that he came here to give us Christmas presents. It's off the scale," Heaven said.
