Enes Kanter's Place on the Mount Rushmore of Sports Losers | Hour 3

Deshaun Watson's Week 1 Start

David Dennis Jr. weighed in on the Cleveland Browns' decision to start Deshaun Watson for Week 1, expressing his lack of surprise. He stated that the Browns seemed to be "teetering towards this catastrophe for weeks now." Dennis believes that if this were a real quarterback debate or competition, it would have been over weeks ago, especially after Watson's public statements. He highlighted Watson's actions of trashing his own fans and bringing up his 27 sexual assault cases in an unprompted manner as clear indicators that he shouldn't be starting. Dennis argued that the Browns were "dead set" on having this "monster of an event" happen, a "catastrophe, this disaster" that insults their fans, non-Browns fans, and "pretty much every woman in the world." He called it "one of the worst, unconscionable decisions" a franchise could make.

Mike Ryan countered, suggesting that Watson might genuinely believe the booing is personal, but that's "bullshit" because "that's not how sports work." Ryan argued that if Watson were a good football player, he wouldn't be booed. Dennis agreed, noting that the situation highlights the moral compromises fans make. He pointed out that fans often have to reconcile their support for a team with the problematic actions of its players or owners. He challenged fans to consider what they would have done if Watson were a high-performing player, like a "second coming of whatever, Peyton Manning." He believes that many who are currently criticizing Watson would be defending him if he were playing exceptionally well, using excuses like "that happened a long time ago" or "innocent until proven guilty in America."

Mike Ryan revealed that he was a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan but gave up his fandom when they signed Deshaun Watson. He entertained the hypothetical of returning to the team if a player like Cam Ward, a University of Miami guy, ended up in Cleveland. Ryan emphasized that he still has issues with the front office and Jimmy Haslam. He drew a distinction between Watson's situation and other players with past controversies, like Kareem Hunt, who made contributions to the Browns. Ryan stated that "30 sexual assault allegations is a bit different than, you know, making one or two mistakes." He found it "impossible to disassociate the success of the team and the team itself from the guy that was touching the ball every play under center." He concluded that he couldn't support the team anymore, though he still roots for individual players like Nick Chubb and Myles Garrett.