Clay On Why Media Is Struggling With Watson Case: 'It Doesn't Fit Easy Identity Politics Criteria'

There is something odd happening with the Deshaun Watson case. Watson is a 25-year-old star quarterback entering the prime of his career, and he's now being accused of sexual assault by at least 13 different women.

This story should be all anyone talks about regarding sports.

Yes, the NCAA Tournament is in full swing, and that will drown out some of the coverage, but Watson is a superstar in the NFL. Where are all the hot takes from woke sports media personalities who usually love sharing their opinions?

Well, OutKick founder Clay Travis says there's a reason we aren't seeing more of the Watson story.

During his radio show OutKick the Coverage on Monday morning, Clay explained that members of sports media are conflicted because they don't know whether to support the female accusers or the young black quarterback. Either take would alienate a portion of their audience, so they have instead chosen to remain silent about the story entirely.

"One reason that this story is receiving almost no sports media attention is because it doesn't fit easy identity politics criteria," Clay said. "Because you have women who are mostly powerless, and mostly minorities that are usually considered to be victims in cases like these. But then the person who potentially took advantage of them is black in Deshaun Watson, who is typically considered to be a victim in sports media circles too.

"So what happens when two victim-laden ideologies collide? Your typically woke sports media doesn't know how to cover it because they're going to alienate one side of the equation, in the victimization pyramid, if they pick a side."

Clay has a fascinating point.

Sports media -- and really, the media in general -- is notorious for picking sides. Right, wrong or neutral, that is how the system works. But in this instance, whom do woke members of sports media go after? Where do they point the finger? Whether they support the women or the minority who has been accused, they will undoubtedly face criticism and accusations of inconsistency.

Clay also observed differences in the way the media cover the Watson lawsuits compared to other high-profile quarterbacks who were embroiled in controversy.

"Think about the way that Peyton Manning's alleged mooning was covered by ESPN when it became a big story in wake of the Carolina Panthers losing to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl a few years ago," Clay explained. "Cam Newton didn't shake hands. He stormed out of his press conference. And a result, that imbecile Shaun King, social media woke warrior, decided to go back into Peyton Manning's history and draw up 20-year-old allegations from when he was in college.

"ESPN covered that story 20 years after Peyton Manning had been an athlete at the University of Tennessee like it was Watergate. They put all their investigative reports on it. They covered it for days."

For anyone unfamiliar with that story, here is some background.

Clay then turned to a more recent example. When Drew Brees explained his opinion on kneeling a couple years ago, the media attacked him viciously.

"If you doubt me there, think about what they did just recently to Drew Brees when he had the audacity to say he stood for the national anthem to show respect for his two grandfathers that fought in World War II, and that he thought that kneeling was disrespectful," Clay said. "You would have thought, based on the way ESPN covered him, that Drew Brees had come out in favor of ISIS or some other ridiculous political ideology."

Finally, Clay issued a homework assignment for his millions of listeners.

"Got a homework assignment for you: find one ESPN analyst who is aggressively saying he or she believes all women in wake of this Deshaun Watson huge mess."

It's a fantastic segment that's definitely worth your time. Here is a link to the podcast.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.