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Colts: Darius Leonard shames ESPN for Deshaun Watson coverage

By Adam Weinrib

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 16: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts talks on a cell phone following the Colts 21-9 win over the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 16: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts talks on a cell phone following the Colts 21-9 win over the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 16, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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All Indianapolis Colts star Darius Leonard is looking for is a little consistency here, alright?

On Saturday, Leonard woke up and decided to inject a bit of chaos into the Twitterverse after sitting through several weeks of inconsistent coverage from ESPN and other sports-centric networks.

Deshaun Watson chatter has dominated the airwaves in recent weeks after accusations of sexual misconduct emerged in the form of 16 individual lawsuits, with a reported 24 accusers lurking. It makes perfect sense to devote time and energy to a high-profile case involving a top-five quarterback and potential trade target, especially as the evidence leaks out in both directions.

Of course, there is another side to this issue: what has ESPN been ignoring while heavily covering the early stages of the Watson situation?

Leonard correctly decided to incite the Twitter-verse on Saturday when he pointed out he hadn’t exactly heard much discussion about the Chad Wheeler situation, a tragedy far more cut-and-dried.

The ex-NFL lineman was arrested on Jan. 23 for a domestic abuse incident that involved a “manic episode” (not Wheeler’s first), as well as a catatonic Wheeler wandering back into the victim’s room and casually musing that he’d expected her to already be dead.

https://twitter.com/dsleon45/status/1375940896852693003?s=20

Now, is the “both sides” appeal of the Watson case, along with his star power, driving the conversation? Sure. But Wheeler hasn’t been publicly admonished nearly enough for Leonard’s case.

Colts’ Darius Leonard pointed out the hypocrisy in ESPN’s Deshaun Watson coverage.

Of course, it must also be pointed out that Wheeler is caucasian and Watson is not, an underlying narrative that will always be pervasive in coverage, whether intentional or not.

This point was not lost on Leonard, who stopped himself short of outright stating the disparity.

https://twitter.com/dsleon45/status/1375943152201256964?s=20

Of course, in trying to ignite the conversation, Leonard realized that his controversial point likely wouldn’t be covered by the major networks either, thus perpetuating the cycle.

We’re more than happy to present his side of the argument largely without comment, allowing Leonard’s takes to stand by themselves.

Wheeler’s situation certainly wasn’t the focus of many major sports telecasts, and definitely didn’t have a lingering impact — though the baked in mental health aspect of the story makes it extremely touchy for networks to cover in neat-and-tidy five-minute pods.

Of course, the same can be said for Watson’s case, littered with intricacies.

Perhaps it would be nice to hear from the victims more often in both instances, so long as they’d be willing to come forward.

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