When Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson fell to the turf with his Achilles injury, some fans inside Huntington Bank Field had a reaction that surprised the team as fans cheered about the player’s injury.
Multiple members of the team had a strong response during the postgame interviews, telling fans that booing athletes who are injured is not something that the team wants its fanbase to be known for.
One player fans nor analysts have heard from is Browns veteran safety Rodney McLeod.
McLeod took a different approach than the way some players spoke to fans after the game.
On “The Ken Carman Show With Anthony Lima” Tuesday, McLeod took five minutes to offer his thoughts and address his concerns about the fans’ reactions to Watson’s injury (via X).
“I know every person, they’re better than that,” McLeod said, adding, “Deshaun deserved better than that, and every player going forward deserved better than that.”
The safety’s words were delivered passionately and in a well-tempered manner, allowing his message to speak to fans without the negative tones other players had after the contest.
McLeod humanized the players, explaining that professional athletes are still human beings.
The safety said that fans often do not realize that these professional athletes see the comments on social media and hear their chants from the stands as fans do not realize they are speaking to another human who has feelings and how “damaging” those words can be.
McLeod added that he and other professional athletes love the fans and the aspect of having them in the stands cheering them on.
Yet McLeod said that as a fan, he would “never cross the line” of cheering on injuries because he understands that it is a person’s “livelihood” at stake when the player is injured.