Kelly Stafford has called for the Cleveland Browns fans who cheered when Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending injury to be banned for life.
The 29-year-old divisive quarterback ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Watson collapsed as he began to run, leading some Browns fans to cheer while he laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s season was over and an MRI on Monday confirmed the rupture. He will have surgery this week and miss the rest of the season but ‘a full recovery is expected.’
However Stafford, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew, has hit out at the Browns fans who celebrated Watson’s injury.
Kelly Stafford has slammed the Cleveland Browns fans who cheered Deshaun Watson’s injury
Stafford demanded every Browns fan who cheered Watson’s injury be banned for life
She posted on Instagram: ‘Should try and find every fan that cheered and ban them for life. Makes my blood boil.’
Cleveland fans have been unhappy about Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
Their reaction on Sunday didn’t sit well with several of Watson’s teammates either, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
‘We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall,’ Garrett said.
Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration, adding: ‘I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day.
‘The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he´s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.’
On Monday, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, who is from Cleveland, said the misplaced passion was disappointing.
‘Everyone has to be better than that,’ he said. ‘Regardless of what you may think of a person or what someone’s been through or whatever the situation may be, that doesn’t make it right or make it any better for you to kick a man when he’s down.’
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns, who gave him a $230million contract two years ago.
Watson collapsed as he began to run, leading some to cheer while he laid on the ground in pain
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to the Houston Texans to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed contract.
But Watson has not played up to expectations, and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46m in each of the next two seasons.
Watson finished his third season passing for 1,148 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sacked a league-high 33 times.
His arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions in Texas.
Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5m for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns.
The long layoff – he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute – led to subpar play, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
It was announced on Tuesday morning that the Browns are signing Bailey Zappe from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. He will compete with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Winston to become the starter.
