One of Deshaun Watson’s first acts as the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns a year and a half ago was to begin blocking reporters. It started with Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, but did he ever actually stop? Reportedly, he went on a new wave of a blocking spree this week following his poor performance on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Deshaun Watson going on a block spree with members of the Cleveland media today tells me all I need to know”, Kyle Lindemann of RotoBall wrote on Twitter. “Whoever that All-Pro QB was before 2021 is gone. Some would say it’s karma and maybe so, but Jimmy Haslam truly did make a deal with the devil and there’s no going back”.
Obviously that’s a lot of subjective commentary there, even if it’s one many outside of Cleveland would agree with, but it’s something to consider. And it’s one local media members did consider recently on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
In fact, there was discussion about the possibility that Watson set up a burner account after the Steelers game to go after reporters who were especially critical of him, and even to criticize some of his teammates. Whether there is any merit to the rumors of him or a member of his inner circle being in control of the @Gainsvillesown Twitter account is not known, but there’s no doubt that his own personal profile has recently blocked numerous media members.
So what exactly does this mean? First and foremost, while he is a public figure, Watson is also a private citizen, so blocking anybody he wants on social media would be part of his personal freedom of expression. He has no obligation to expose himself to people he would rather not, even if his history indicates he is not overly judicious when choosing to whom he exposes himself.
But why would he actively maintain his Twitter account if these things bother him so much? That’s assuming he handles the account on his own, at least in terms of going through mentions and deciding to block people.
At the end of the day, does it matter? The NFL isn’t going to discipline him for blocking reporters on social media, but does it say something about his composure, his resilience, his fortitude? Or is it just a guy limiting his exposure to people he doesn’t care for, who introduce negativity into his life?
It is an odd time, this century, when we have to weigh things like public figures blocking people on social media and what it says about them. It may be especially odd in the realm of sports. Nobody likes to be publicly criticized, especially by random, unqualified strangers, or by public figures who profit from the criticism.
If I were Watson, I would just put the phone down and concentrate on getting better on the field. You can’t control what people say about you by restricting what you see. The only way to control your narrative is to change what the narrative is based on. Blocking reporters won’t help, either on the field or on social media.
