WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va — When Deshaun Watson arrived in Cleveland, he was dealing with more than just fitting in with a new team. From the dozens of lawsuits against him to the court appearances and subsequent 11-game suspension—Watson's off-field situation has weighed heavily on him and those around him.
Now, entering his first full season as the Browns' starting quarterback—Watson finds himself tasked with not only growing and learning from that situation but growing and learning how to step up as a leader.
The numerous allegations of sexual misconduct against Watson not only saw him fighting legal consequences but fighting not to lose the person he believes he truly is.
"The whole situation changed me. It was a situation where I had to lock on myself, channel, and really know who I'm surrounding myself with and just really who's going to be there and support me even when I'm at my lowest point," Watson said. "The last few years are definitely the lowest point in my life, but that's part of life, and I just go from it, I learn from it, I continue to move forward and push forward and continue to show my real character, my real personality and who I am."
After settling all but one of the lawsuits against him and receiving his suspension from the NFL, Watson has been slowly getting back to the person he was known to be before the allegations. Now, he feels as though he's in a good head space.
"Being able to have that right head space, go through different media tasks and opportunities, go through what the NFL put me through with the therapy sessions and things like that, I didn't take that lightly. I really cherish those moments, and I wanted to learn," Watson said.
Those therapy sessions are something that Watson said he continues doing, learning to use the resources from the Browns to grow as a person and a leader.
General Manager Andrew Berry said fostering that growth in Watson and other team leaders is something the Browns feel very strongly about.
"We take pride in supporting our players as an organization—not just, say, how good can they be on the field or how are they physically, but in terms of the social, emotional, leadership development as well. And we do provide resources to our guys in that regard. And fortunately, we have a really hungry locker room with guys that are looking for self-improvement, and we feel fortunate in that regard," Berry said.
Aside from the therapy, the support the Browns have provided Watson has also come in the form of allowing him to talk about his story, his background and his situation in a special program directed by head coach Kevin Stefanski.
"We call it 'The Four Hs,' which is the history about yourself, your heroes, your heartbreaks and your hopes. I had the opportunity to speak to the team and told my story," Watson said. "I didn't think of the NFL. I didn't know I was going to make it out of high school. My mom being sick and having tongue cancer and not being able to eat solid food ever again. Not having a father figure in my life ever, probably 27 years, only seeing him four times, and different stuff like that is things that people don't really get to hear about....to tell that story in front of those guys and look my teammates in their eyes and be able to touch them and let them know why I am who I am is definitely powerful."
Watson will never be able to fully shake the situation of his past. That is something that will follow him for the rest of his career and his life. How he moves forward is what remains to be seen.
But what is clear is that Watson is aiming to grow and claim the role as a guy his teammates can rally around and look to as a leader, not just a quarterback—and he feels he's already beginning to accomplish that goal.
"Personally, I'm in a different space. Feel really well, feel really good, comfortable being around the guys, the locker room, the coaching staff, the organization and just the city of Cleveland. So have an opportunity to go into the season, full offseason, locked in, focused. It definitely feels good, and I want to continue to keep channeling and cherishing all the energy and positive energy that has been spread around this organization and this city myself," Watson said.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
