Aaron Wilson Out at Houston Chronicle After Deshaun Watson Comments

Late last night, Defector reported that the Houston Chronicle had parted ways with NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. Wilson went on The Greg Hill Show three weeks ago to talk about the Deshaun Watson sexual assault and harassment allegations. During his appearance, he denounced the civil suits filed as a "money grab" before comparing the situation to negotiating with terrorists (per Defector):

At one point during the conversation, when talking about the Watson case, he said, “In his case, you know, it’s kind of you don’t negotiate with terrorists. People are demanding money, they’re asking for money. It kept escalating, it kept going up and up and up. You’re talking about more and more funds, I’m not going to say how much it got to, but my understanding is, you know, that there was an admission that, it was, you know, something, you know just that this was, you know, just a money grab.”

Wilson kept writing for the Chronicle after that appearance; his last article was published yesterday, just before he was let go.

According to Defector's sources, the Chronicle held meetings to announce the news and remind reporters of the extremely sensitive nature of the Watson case and to be cautious about what they say on other platforms. They reportedly did not specifically say that Wilson was let go as a direct result of the comments he made.

Wilson released a statement today apologizing for those comments, appearing to confirm that his appearance on WEEI led to the Chronicle parting ways.

As of writing, 22 women have accused Watson of sexual assault or harassment. Yesterday, Watson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, requested the identity of every woman who has filed a civil suit be revealed and held his first public press conference on the matter. Several of Watson's brand partners have either suspended or dropped sponsorship agreements with the star quarterback in light of the developing situation.