In trying to avoid giving his opinion on the Deshaun Watson drama, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh took a subtle jab at division rivals the Cleveland Browns on Monday.
The ramifications for Watson and the Browns following allegations of sexual misconduct toward as many as 30 women has been the top story hovering over Cleveland’s football team since they made the massive trade for the former Houston Texans star.
Related: Appointee rules 6-game suspension for Deshaun Watson
On Monday, the hammer finally came down on the three-time Pro Bowler when the NFL suspended Watson for the first six games of the season for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. The ongoing situation between him and his accusers has been a dark cloud following the league since last year, however, opinions from players and coaches around the NFL have been scarce. On Monday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the situation, and while he didn’t offer much, he did admit he has an opinion on the case.
“I do have a lot of opinions on it,” Harbaugh told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I’m just not at liberty to share them at this time. That’s for the league to decide.”
Baltimore Ravens head coach fires subtle shot at Cleveland Browns
Yet, even though Harbaugh did not unveil his true feelings on the Browns-Watson drama he did fire a veiled shot at the organization and their franchise quarterback nonetheless. The Ravens have a well-documented history with a star player having serious off-the-field troubles when former Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice was caught on tape brutally abusing his girlfriend at an Atlantic City casino nearly a decade ago.
Harbaugh believes that the ugly incident taught the Ravens organization a valuable lesson about the character of the individuals they now bring into their locker room. Their current policies wouldn’t allow for the acquisition of someone like Watson and the personal drama that followed him from Houston. In explaining that, he essentially threw shade at the Browns. For their lack of such policies and really looking into the situation surrounding Watson before making a huge trade and giving him a historic guaranteed contract in the offseason.
“I respect what [owner] Steve Bisciotti and [former team president] Dick Cass created here almost 10 years ago. Basically, we’re kind of zero tolerance. You have to know the truth, you have to try to understand the circumstances, but we’ve stayed away from that particular situation — when we draft players, [and] when we sign them as free agents. That’s Steve’s decision, and I’m glad that we have that policy.”
The Ravens and Browns face off for their first of two division games in Week 7 on Oct. 23.