92.3 The Fan morning host Ken Carman said during his after-show podcast Tuesday he doesn’t believe the national media reaction would have been the same if a team other than the Cleveland Browns had traded for Deshaun Watson, who has since been suspended for 11 games by the NFL after the league found him guilty of serial sexual assault.
“I’ve spent my entire adult life with my team being made fun of for how bad they are,” Carman said. “I can’t tell you unequivocally that I’m not convinced that (the media) would have the same treatment to Indianapolis that we’ve gotten here in Cleveland. Because Indianapolis doesn’t have the history that we do here in my adult life. And I could think ‘Well, maybe they would’. I can’t guarantee that. When they’re ripping Jim Irsay and they’re ripping the Colts, the person in the media isn’t ripping Bob Jefferson who lives in Carmel, Indiana. But to Bob, it feels like they’re ripping me because I’m a Colts fan. To Mike in Parma, it feels like you’re ripping me because I’m a Browns fan.”
Carman and co-host Anthony Lima have defended Browns fans from criticism since the team traded for and gave Watson the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history.
Carman’s comments came moments after noting he had been critical of Pittsburgh fans and radio hosts for their support of Ben Roethlisberger after the former Steelers quarterback was accused of sexual assault.
“I brought this up with you with Ben Roethlisberger,” Carman told co-host Anthony Lima. “We made a lot of jokes at ‘Poni’s (93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh host Andrew Fillipponi) expense. Did we really feel bad for those people or were we just trying to bust ‘Poni’s balls? I don’t want to answer that. It’s changed a lot of that perspective. We all come to terms with things that are uncomfortable in different ways and in due time. Rooting for Jim Brown, knowing what we know now, doesn’t make sense. I want to be in touch while not trying to be in touch. I don’t wanna try to hard to be ‘with it’.”
