"Extremely irresponsible" - NFL fans blast Adam Schefter for 'poorly worded' Deshaun Watson tweet
ESPN's senior NFL insider Adam Schefter caught the ire of NFL fans for his tweet that seemingly implied Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was not guilty of sexual misconduct after a grand jury dismissed criminal charges against the star.
Schefter tweeted:
"This is why Deshaun Watson, from the beginning, welcomed a police investigation: He felt he knew that the truth would come out. And today, a grand jury did not charge him on any of the criminal complaints."
This is why Deshaun Watson, from the beginning, welcomed a police investigation: He felt he knew that the truth would come out. And today, a grand jury did not charge him on any of the criminal complaints.
NFL fans lambast Adam Schefter for tweet about Deshaun Watson
The grand jury did not believe that the prosecution had enough evidence to press criminal charges against Watson and dismissed them. The 26-year-old quarterback will still face civil lawsuits stemming from sexual misconduct allegations from over two dozen women.
The line "He (Watson) felt he knew that the truth would come out" in Schefter's implied that the dismissal of the criminal charges absolved Watson and that the quarterback was innocent. Fans quickly pointed out how the ESPN insider's deduction was off the mark.
ProFootballTalk quoted Adam Schefter's tweet and replied:
This tweet reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the legal system actually works. twitter.com/adamschefter/s…
Sports Illustrated's Sarah Kelly also quoted the tweet and replied that deductions like Schefter's are why women don't come forward with sexual misconduct allegations:
WARNING: NSFW language
This kind of shit is a leading reason I never reported any of my sexual assaults. If you can’t prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it happened exactly the way you said it did, people like Adam Schefter will call you a liar. twitter.com/adamschefter/s…
YouTuber Jeff Cavanaugh accused Adam Schefter of being a mouthpiece for agents:
Yeesh, Schefter with another tweet copy and pasted from a players agent with no regard for any other humans. twitter.com/adamschefter/s…
Twitter user Chester Birdbath called the tweet "extremely irresponsible":
@AdamSchefter This is an extremely irresponsible tweet. The fact he’s not being charged does not prove he acted legally or appropriately. It means they didn’t provide enough evidence to charge him. That’s a massive difference. But you gotta carry your water for the shield, so I get it.
The Athletic contributor Ben Baldwin gave the NFL insider sound advice in the replies:
@AdamSchefter There's still time to delete this
Schefter apologized for the tweet, calling it poorly worded and explaining that he was reiterating Deshaun Watson's legal team's point of view. He wrote:
"This was a poorly worded tweet that deserves a proper response. It was intended to provide insight into the strategy of Watson’s legal team from its POV. I should have been clearer. As legal experts have explained, a lack of an indictment alone does not mean someone is innocent."
This was a poorly worded tweet that deserves a proper response. It was intended to provide insight into the strategy of Watson’s legal team from its POV. I should have been clearer. As legal experts have explained, a lack of an indictment alone does not mean someone is innocent.
The apology didn't help, as the tweet had over 1,000 replies, most criticizing Schefter for the initial tweet.