"This interview brings everything back into the public sphere again" - NFL analyst reacts to seeing HBO interview with Deshaun Watson accusers

Deshaun Watson and his accusers are not leaving the public eye as much as the Cleveland Browns organization wants them to as the 2022 NFL offseason enters its dog days. HBO's interview with Watson's accusers has brought the 22 lawsuits alleging the quarterback of sexual misconduct and sexual assault back into the public sphere, at least according to Kimberley A. Martin on ESPN's Get Up.

According to Martin, the Browns want to move on from the debacle and finally get closure on the situation to focus on the 2022 football season. However, the HBO interview precludes Cleveland from doing that:

"If you're the Browns you want to get closure. You want to get to football already. But this interview brings everything back into the public sphere again. We're looking at Deshaun Watson...we're thinking about the job that the Browns gave this guy...$230 million guaranteed and we are still nowhere closer to a conclusion with this situation."

Deshaun Watson taking his teammates to the Bahamas backfired from a PR perspective

Watson tried to build rapport with members of the Browns offense off the field with a trip to the Bahamas. But his decision to foot the bill for the massive luxury vacation for his millionaire teammates was met with scrutiny from the public. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio called the trip 'tone deaf' on his NBC Sports talk show.

The Watson and Baker Mayfield dramas constitute the chaos Cleveland deserves, according to Florio:

“You could argue the Browns are getting the chaos they deserve by doing the deal with Deshaun Watson, doing the trade, the 230 million fully guaranteed, while you still have Baker Mayfield, and you don't know what's going on? Well, you only have yourself to blame for not knowing what's going on as all of this begins to collide, and you have to contemplate life with Deshaun Watson, maybe without him, life with Baker Mayfield. Maybe without him, it's a big mess, and the Browns only have themselves to blame.”

Ultimately, the $230 million guaranteed given to Watson may not be justified by the end of the deal if the legal battle he's caught up in takes any negative turns. The HBO interview may not change a single thing from the court's perspective, but it certainly makes life harder for members of the Browns organization playing damage control about the entire case.