Browns Joel Bitonio says ‘Cleveland against world’ in defense of Deshaun Watson

Joel Bitonio of the Cleveland Browns made that famous statement (that annoys some) “it’s Cleveland against the world” when discussing Deshaun Watson.

It sometimes feels like the Cleveland Browns are in the news cycle way too often because of moves and decisions by the front office. We’ve seen this happen time and time again. Most recently, the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson, the controversial quarterback, who’s been out of the league for over a year.

Watson got his first opportunity to get back on the football field this past week when he started the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a rough outing for him as his accuracy was off but he also had receivers like Anthony Schwartz drop a couple of good throws.

When Watson was on the field, much of the hometown Jags crowd booed him loudly. The reaction was clearly due to Watson’s off-the-field issues where he’s been accused of 24 cases of sexual misconduct. We’ve learned that he could be facing a six-game suspension, but it could become an even longer suspension in time.

With that as the background, teammate Joel Bitonio recently talked about the booing in Jacksonville and how that reaction by fans at opposing team’s stadiums might become commonplace and that it felt like moving forward that “it was Cleveland against World,” as reported by Mary Kay Cabot, of the Cleveland.com.

The statement by Bitonio has been used often by many in the Cleveland sports scene over the years. It’s a catchphrase that is used for motivation by individuals and teams. It’s a rallying cry to try and get the most out of players or a team.

Former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield used this type of phrase in the past to try and motivate himself and his teammates. Lebron James used that type of sentiment back in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers came back and beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Teams and players are always looking for that edge or advantage on their opponent. It’s us and our story against yours. It doesn’t always make sense and in the case of Bitonio using the statement to help motivate him and his team might not be looked at fondly by fans of the team that still find Watson’s actions off the field as wrong.

I don’t believe either that Bitonio is trying to alienate fans or make light of the accusations against Watson. But for him and his teammates, they have to continue to move forward and play the games. If Watson is suspended then the booing might not be there initially but it’s likely when Watson returns to the football field, the boos will be there.

The players have to stick together and if that means using a statement like ‘Cleveland against the world,” to maintain that focus, then I’m okay with it too.