Kirk Herbstreit is under heavy fire this weekend for his latest remarks on Deshaun Watson.
During the third quarter of Thursday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels said, “We don’t have to go through the whole Deshaun Watson thing.” He was referring to the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct in 2021.
“He was first accused of sexual assault by a Houston massage therapist on March 16, 2021. The woman, who later came forward as Ashley Solis, filed a civil lawsuit against Watson, alleging he exposed himself and purposely touched her hand with his penis during a massage appointment at her home. Watson denied any wrongdoing,” People Magazine reported. “After the initial accusation, the number of women accusing Watson of indecent acts during massage therapy appointments grew to 24. Watson faced 10 filed criminal complaints, however, two separate Texas grand juries both declined to indict Watson on any criminal charges.”
After Michaels made that remark, Herbstreit had this to say: “When you convert on 3rd downs, you hit passes, you lead this team to victories, those boos turn into cheers.”
Let’s just say NFL fans didn’t appreciate how Herbstreit and Michaels swept Watson’s past under the rug.
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
“Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit are missing a lot of context during this conversation about the complicated relationship between Deshaun Watson and Browns fans,” Ben Axelrod of Front Office Sports said.
“Have respected Kirk Herbstreit – and I can even understand some broadcast fatigue on the Watson storyline. But this is an extremely poor summation. Might as well have said talent & wins make people forget about character….which is unfortunately true at some level in our society, but certainly not a message we want reiterated. And definitely not from a prominent, influential voice,” one person wrote on X.
“Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit are what’s wrong with older generation in football,” a social media user declared.
“This is gross and nasty behavior from men in a position of power speaking to a national audience,” another person commented.
It was a controversial broadcast for Prime Video.
Prior to kickoff for the Steelers-Browns game, Prime Video reporter Taylor Rooks sat down with Watson to discuss his off-field controversy. That interview didn’t sit well with the public, that’s for sure.
“Fair? Of course, to me, I’m gonna say no,” Watson told Rooks when asked if the skepticism surrounding him is fair. “But life isn’t fair, and I understand. I can accept my responsibilities and everything that I went through and feel and move forward.”
Watson finished Week 4 with 268 passing yards, a touchdown, an interception and a game-winning drive for Todd Monken’s offense.
