When it comes to the 22 women accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and harassment, the Browns just don’t care. They never cared. It was secondary, an afterthought, a mild hiccup in a trade, not something that actually would have changed their minds. However, the Browns really want you to think they actually give a shit. They want you to believe that they paused, reflected on the scenario, investigated, listened to women and returned with an educated, considered decision. This, of course, is all a lie.

The most pronounced example of their lack of care came on Sunday, when the Browns released a series of pathetic canned responses from everyone in the football organization, all towing the party line to reassure fans that they seriously looked into the allegations against Watson and came away without concern.

From Dee and Jimmy Haslam:

“We spent a tremendous amount of time exploring and investigating the opportunity to trade for Deshaun Watson. We are acutely aware and empathetic to the highly personal sentiments expressed about this decision.”

This, courtesy of GM Andrew Berry:

“We have done extensive investigative, legal and reference work over the past several months to provide us with the appropriate information needed to make an informed decision about pursuing him and moving forward with him as our quarterback.”

Coach Kevin Stefanski:

“Our organization did a tremendous amount of background on Deshaun.”

Well hell, I guess if these folks say they did “tremendous” and “extensive” amounts of work looking into Watson then it has to be true, right? Well, maybe not. Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing the 22 women filing civil cases against Watson claims the Browns didn’t contact him at all. No conversation, no chat, no seeking of clarification. In the end all this “tremendous” and “extensive” work skipped the most basic step: Listening to women.

That was never the goal, right? The Browns weren’t looking to actually learn what Watson did or didn’t do. They just wanted to satiate the public. It’s the same play they ran in 2019 after signing Kareem Hunt. When disgusting video emerged of Hunt assaulting a woman and kicking her on the ground emerged in 2018 it was so clear-cut the Chiefs released their star running back immediately, and it was widely accepted that nobody was going to sign Hunt — at least for a while.

Then, it was announced that Hunt wouldn’t face criminal charges because the woman in the video wasn’t cooperating with prosecutors, a common, well documented element in cases where a man has power, fame and influence. The Browns got their green light. Hunt cleared the lowest, most pathetic bar for entry into their sorry, also-ran organization. Of course, the Browns had to justify signing Hunt. It’s okay, because they decided the key was to just say you’ve done “extensive research,” as former GM John Dorsey noted.

“We fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem’s history and do not condone his actions. Given what we know about Kareem through our extensive research, we believe he deserves a second chance […]”

In all of these statements about Watson and Hunt note there’s a common through line of forgiveness, giving a second chance, an opportunity at a redemption story. It’s the rotten bill of sale the Browns have used twice now, but the lengths Cleveland have gone to in order to protect Deshaun Watson are even more vile.

It’s one thing to put football wins over everything else, hell, teams do it every day — but the Browns actively engaged in salary manipulation to ensure Watson is insulated from any real financial penalty in case he’s suspended by the NFL. The new extension signed as part of the trade reduces Watson’s 2022 salary from $35M to $1M. The rest of the money is paid on the back-end of the deal. This is significant because lost pay during suspensions is calculated off a player’s base salary, not any bonuses. So, if Watson were to be suspended six games this season he would have forfeited $11.64M under his prior contract — now with the salary reduction: $333K. It’s half of what he’ll earn in a single quarter of playing football in 2023.

This is disgusting. This is not the empathy that Dee and Jimmy Haslam claimed in their letter, it’s the precise opposite. The decision to protect Watson’s earnings pointedly, and precisely says they don’t care. They don’t care whether these 22 women were sexually assaulted. They don’t care whether fans are alienated by signing yet another player with an alleged history of violence against women. They don’t care whether the NFL plans to suspend and fine Watson, because they know it’s coming, and they’re prepared for it.

Desperation is a stinky cologne, and the Browns reek. That’s really the heart of all this. Trading for Deshaun Watson is a tacit admission by Cleveland that they just suck as a football organization. They can’t evaluate talent, the team can’t draft well. They haven’t been able to find a quarterback in, hell, since the team re-entered the league in 2002. Recent failures like Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn and now Baker Mayfield have proven they can’t select a passer to save their lives, and the only way a star quarterback would ever sign with the Browns is if they’re mired in a huge scandal that happens to align with Cleveland’s very particular set of skills: not caring if a player hurt women. Hell, it helps too when Watson’s lawyer is also cozy with Jimmy Haslam, previously defending a Flying J executive against fraud charges.

None of this should absolve the other teams mired in this whole debacle. The Falcons, Panthers and Saints all deserve scrutiny for pursuing Watson too, even if they were edged out at the finish line of this pathetic, desperate race. These organizations should be questioned and held accountable — hopefully with the end goal of them realizing that fans actually do care about their consciences while supporting a team as much as wins and losses.

As for the Browns, they got their guy. The preening peacocks in Cleveland’s executive lounges can give their high fives and lick their lips now that they finally have a QB worth a damn. It only cost a boatload of draft picks, $230M, and selling off another chunk of their souls. The Cleveland Browns are banking on everyone forgetting about this in a few years as they become a perennial playoff team, waiting patiently for another player to be accused of something horrendous so the heat is off Deshaun Watson. It’s cold comfort for the women accusing Watson still trying to hold the QB accountable, or the fans in Cleveland who again feel alienated by the organization — it’s okay though, because they did “extensive research,” right?