Browns co-Owner Dee Haslam said that she is "comfortable with the organization's controversial decision" to draft Florida DT Caleb Brantley, despite allegations of assault, "because of her faith" in Exec VP/Football Operations Sashi Brown and the player personnel department, according to Nate Ulrich of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Haslam said, "We really trust our football organization. ... Sashi and our personnel group have done an amazing job. So we just trust them and their decisions." Haslam, a member of the NFL’s conduct committee, was "asked whether she’s concerned about bad publicity for the Browns stemming from the incident involving Brantley." She said, "At this point, we don’t know (how the legal process will unfold), so it’s really hard to say. But these are young men, and you do understand that we’re doing our best to build great men. So we hope surrounding him and doing the right things, he can become that great man. He has work to do." She added, "We knew last year was going to be painful. I don’t think any of us saw 1-15. That was extremely painful. But we put a plan in place. We’re following that plan. We’re very excited about where we are" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/17). Haslam reiterated what Brown said "shortly after picking Brantley," namely that the decision "did not need approval from ownership." Haslam said that "it's hard to say whether the so-far-unresolved situation with Brantley will put the organization overall in a bad light" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 5/17).
