Henry McKenna

NFL reporter

As he stood up for Deshaun Watson after Sunday's Bengals-Browns game in Cleveland, Jameis Winston lost sight of what was important.

Winston seemed to completely forget that there was more to Watson's life than football, namely the 24 lawsuits and 30 accusers who have accused Watson of sexual misconduct. The embattled quarterback has settled more than 20 of those lawsuits.

Winston, a backup from Cleveland, spoke passionately about Watson after he went down with a torn Achilles tendon, and Browns fans cheered when they saw the quarterback was injured.

“My upbringing taught me to love in all circumstances, especially with people who do the right thing,” Winston said. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve Deshaun. But I am very upset by the reaction to a man the world has been immune to for the past four years. And he put his body and his life on the line for this city every single day.”

Watson is not a victim. I don't care that Winston was upset by the Browns fans cheering. (That was also wrong. But not comparable.) Winston must see the forest for the trees.

The reason Watson has “had the world against him for four years” is simple: he is facing lawsuits alleging sexual harassment against women. To complicate matters further, Winston was face to face Accusation of raping a woman in 2012.

Winston's compassion for Watson doesn't just fall on deaf ears. It's numb. It's insulting.

It's the mistake the football world so often makes: it forgets that this is just a game.

Watson can do his job at the highest level. He can be a great teammate. He could be a great quarterback. And it does not absolve him of the allegations against him.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett only made matters worse when asked about the fans cheering.

“No one deserves this,” Garrett said about Awful AnnancingAftermath. “I've seen him work his ass off to get back here, put a smile on his face and try to leave everything that's outside the facility behind him. Death threats, (people) coming to his house. People who are targeting his family.” Like I said, no one deserves to use the word “deserves.”

“Humans do pretty much everything right. A model citizen through college and the pros too. Plays the game as hard as anyone I've ever seen. He puts everything on the line and is ready to throw his body out there. He's playing the game 100 miles an hour and there's a risk of getting hurt and he took that risk. We have to be there for him as a team and as an organization. We must not look down on a man because he makes mistakes on the field or anything off the field. We have no moral reason to look down on the guy.

It's just as numb.

Should fans' reactions to Deshaun Watson's injury be noted?

It goes downhill with: “Humans do pretty much everything right.” Because at that point you have lost all credibility. According to 30 different women, Watson is said to have broken the law. This replaces the things the guy did right on the Texans and Browns practice fields. He cannot be a “model citizen” if these 30 women are telling the truth.

Ultimately, Watson probably won't be the Browns' problem anymore.

Cleveland needs to think about getting rid of him. And if it happens, it won't be a credit to the Browns. They acquired him in a trade that included three first-round picks. They guaranteed him $230 million. They decided to build their franchise around Watson. And because they invested so heavily in Watson — the worst and (by many measures) biggest transaction in NFL history — they let the whole thing drag on for so long that the players clearly don't know how to understand any of it .

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna covered the Patriots for seven years for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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