HOUSTON – Texan quarterback Deshaun Watson on Monday asked fans who had planned a protest on his behalf to cancel the event “for reasons of public safety.”
“Although I feel humbled, I ask whoever is organizing the march to cancel public safety,” Watson said in a tweet. “Covid is spreading at a rapid pace and I don’t want fans to unnecessarily expose themselves to infections.”
I hear that a march is planned for me today in Houston. Although I feel humbled, I ask whoever organizes the march to cancel the public safety. Covid is spreading at a rapid pace and I don’t want fans to unnecessarily expose themselves to infections.
– Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) January 18, 2021
The protest appears to be related to Watson’s accident with the team following the process it used to hire general manager Nick Caserio.
The event was hosted on Saturday night by a Texan fan who tweeted“I’m off on Monday, I’m going to protest for NRG. If we get enough people to do these things, change can happen.”
The event, which was first marketed as a protest but later turned into a “rally”, was scheduled for Monday at 11am local time. The plan was for Texan fans to eat at Lefty’s, the cheesesteak franchise of which Watson is a minority owner, and then walk half a mile to NRG Stadium for a “peaceful protest.”