CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers tried hard to trade for a Pro Bowl quarterback, someone who could have changed the direction of the woebegone franchise on the field for the next decade.
In normal circumstances, the news that they lost out on Deshaun Watson — reportedly to the Cleveland Browns in a Friday stunner — would be mourned.
But I’m not sad about it. I’m glad Watson isn’t coming here.
Watson would have brought undeniable talent and charisma to a team that sorely needs both. But he also would have brought an 18-wheeler full of baggage — 22 civil lawsuits have been filed against him, alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior during numerous massage sessions.
Yes, Watson won’t be facing criminal charges for this alleged behavior. That was decided last Friday by a grand jury in Texas, and that opened the door for Watson to be traded to the Panthers or anyone else. And a number of teams were interested. The Panthers were far from alone here in ignoring — or at least deciding they could live with — all the things Watson supposedly did. They attempted to recruit Watson, sending a contingent to Houston on Monday to try to persuade him to waive his no-trade clause for the Panthers so they could work out a deal with his current team, the Houston Texans.
But Watson wasn’t persuaded, and now the Panthers don’t employ a franchise quarterback facing 22 lawsuits.
I understand how you can wrongly be accused in life by one person of something. Or two people. Or even three. But 22 accusations, all alleging some version of the same thing?! It’s difficult to believe all that smoke wasn’t generated by some fire.
Still, being tried in the court of public opinion isn’t the same in the court of law.
But it’s easy to believe this move, if successful, would have alienated a significant portion of the Panthers fan base. In fact, the ethical choice the Panthers made by working so hard to acquire Watson in the first place alienated some of those fans already.
Owner David Tepper has been at the forefront of the Panthers’ unsuccessful pursuit of Watson. In 2018, Tepper bought the Panthers following a workplace misconduct scandal that included sexual harassment accusations involving former owner Jerry Richardson. At his first news conference, Tepper said: “I’d like to have an open environment … where everybody feels safe, like a family.”
This attempt didn’t feel like a family-friendly move, though. This felt more like “win at all costs.”
Off-field questions, on-field talent
So many off-the-field questions still surround Watson, even though there’s no longer a threat of him going to prison.
Will the NFL independently suspend Watson for some games — I think they will — for violating the league’s code of conduct and, if so, for how long? Will the civil lawsuits be settled? Will Watson ever show any public remorse?
I don’t like the fact that the Panthers went after him, but I do like the way this worked out. The Panthers were trying to buy themselves a whole new set of problems while also mortgaging a large percentage of the team’s future and inherent goodwill. The price for Watson was incredibly steep, as it was always going to be for a 26-year-old quarterback who was already one of the best in the NFL the last time he played, in 2020.
But another, more intangible price would have had to be paid, too.
While the Watson trade was still a possibility, some fans wrote to me swearing they would never cheer for the Panthers again and would give away all their Carolina paraphernalia if Watson was acquired. I heard from women who were the victims of sexual assaults who were extremely disappointed in the team. I had fathers ask me how they are supposed to explain this trade to their children, and wondered exactly the same thing with my own 14-year-old daughter.
Let’s back up for a moment and remember that Watson has proclaimed complete innocence multiple times through his attorney. He is innocent until proven guilty. His attorney Rusty Hardin told The Charlotte Observer last week: “This is a really neat kid. I think he’s one of the top two or three quarterbacks in the world. He’s a really, really neat human being. And he probably showed bad judgment, maybe by getting involved with all these women, but he didn’t do anything wrong.”
After Watson knew he wasn’t going to be criminally charged in Texas on Friday, he spoke to reporters for the first time in more than a year.
In part, Watson said: “I’m just going to keep fighting to rebuild my name and rebuild my appearance in the community. And on the legal side, handle what we need to handle. But also (I’m) ready to get on the field, and prep for that.”
He just won’t be getting on that field in Carolina, except when he comes to Charlotte as an opposing quarterback.
The irony of chasing watson
There was an irony to the Panthers’ all-out pursuit of Watson.
Tepper was able to buy the Carolina franchise in the first place because former owner Jerry Richardson decided to sell it within hours of the publication of an explosive story in Sports Illustrated in December 2017. The story detailed Richardson’s workplace misconduct while he owned the team, and much of that misconduct took the form of sexual harassment against female employees. Confidential payouts were made in return for what amounted to a vow of silence. The term “Jeans Day” took on a new and sinister meaning in Charlotte.
The NFL’s investigation confirmed the SI story, although the results of that probe were — quite wrongly — never fully released. All of it was a huge mess, and Richardson, now 85, never publicly addressed it before or after selling the team.
So Tepper inherited that, and in his first news conference with the Panthers vowed to clean it up.
“Listen, it’s a new day,” Tepper said in July 2018. He also said “there aren’t going to be non-disclosure agreements in this new place.” And “that was then, this is now.” And “I’d like to have an open environment … where everybody feels safe, like a family.”
Less than four years later, the Panthers at least found a reason to take down the Richardson statue. But they just fell all over themselves trying to trade for a quarterback accused of doing some of the same sorts of things Richardson did — namely, sexually harassing people you are paying money to in one way or another. In Richardson’s case, it was team employees. In Watson’s case it was, allegedly, massage therapists who he hired.
If the Watson deal had been successful, the Panthers would have undoubtedly contorted themselves into a pretzel trying to explain it. And many fans would have bought that — the ones who are tired of five-win seasons and believe a “win-at-all-costs” approach is the right one.
But I would never have been able to applaud this move in good conscience. And that’s despite the column I once wrote advocating a trade for Watson. (That was before he was accused of anything.)
On the field, Watson is dynamic. Off the field, there are too many questions.
Maybe Watson will be completely cleared and become the Boy Scout everyone thought he was when he was winning a national championship at Clemson. Maybe we will look back on this as one of the biggest misfires in team history.
But my gut says the Panthers just dodged a bullet. They were about to send exactly the wrong message to their fans.
Winning in the NFL — it shouldn’t be all that matters. But in capital letters, that’s what trading for Watson would have spelled out.
