Cleveland Browns owners Dee, Jimmy Haslam to commit $1 million for sexual misconduct education

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - In light of the Deshaun Watson ruling, Cleveland Browns team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam shared plans to invest $1 million towards education to increase awareness of sexual misconduct.

The announcement from the Haslams came in remarks delivered with Deshaun Watson and team general manager Andrew Berry after the NFL finalized a 11-game suspension for the Cleveland Browns quarterback, who was accused of sexual misconduct in civil lawsuits by two dozen massage therapists.

“I just want to say that we, as an organization and as individuals, we have tremendous empathy for the women involved,” Dee Haslam said on Thursday.

“We have an opportunity now to make a difference in this community. We are going to invest $1 million to go towards educating the youth for awareness of sexual misconduct,” Dee Haslam added. “We are going to work really hard on intervention, and we are looking forward to getting involved and getting started on that.”

Both Dee and Jimmy Haslam said they were planning the financial contribution before Watson’s disciplinary process began.

Watson was also fined $5 million and is required to undergo counseling before he could be reinstated.

“I think Deshaun has made progress from the time he came here to now,” Dee Haslam described. “He is making progress, but it is not going to happen overnight. He is 26 years old, and he is just getting into counseling. It is going to take some time.”

The Browns quarterback could be eligible to return when Cleveland takes on his former team in Houston on Dec. 4.

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