A little less than a week after Andrea Thome, the wife of Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome, announced she canceled the family’s Cleveland Browns season tickets over the decision to trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, she shared a screenshot of a note she claimed was from one of Watson’s alleged victims of sexual assault.
“I wouldn’t wish the last 48 hours on anyone, but this letter is why it was worth it,” Thome wrote Monday. “I stand by my decision and none of threats, name-calling, false-accusations or character assassination makes any difference. Other peoples opinion of me is none of my business.”
In the tweet, she posted a screenshot of a message from a woman who claims to be one of the women allegedly assaulted by Watson. Though her name is blocked out in the screenshot, the woman says she reached out to Thome to thank her for taking a stand.
SPORTS NEWSLETTER:Sign up now for daily updates sent to your inbox
A BAD LOOK:Deshaun Watson’s press conference showed that the Browns are full of it
“Anyone who says that you are virtue-signaling or that it ‘doesn’t matter’ is wrong,” the woman writes in the note. “It matters to me. Any tweet or comment I see that speaks against sexual violence against women is one more reason for me to keep going and not feel utterly hopeless.
“I have been at my lowest point the last couple of weeks, and I just wanted to say thank you.”
I wouldn’t wish the last 48 hours on anyone, but this letter is why it was worth it. I stand by my decision and none of threats, name-calling, false-accusations or character assassination makes any difference. Other peoples opinion of me is none of my business. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/4GV6JiPSgb
— Andrea Thome (@AndreaThome) March 28, 2022
This comes after Thome announced on her Twitter account Friday that she canceled the family’s Browns season tickets after the introductory press conference the franchise had to announce the Watson trade.
Watson is facing 22 ongoing civil lawsuit that alleging sexual misconduct. Watson has maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing at the Friday press conference, saying: “I know these allegations are very, very serious, but I’ve never assaulted any woman. I’ve never disrespected any woman.”
Earlier this month, the Browns traded for Watson and gave him a fully-guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
Watson, 26, sat out all of last season amid his trade demand from the Texans and series of allegations of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions, including 22 civil lawsuits. On March 11, a grand jury declined to indict Watson on any of the nine criminal complaints against him.
Then on Thursday, a second grand jury in a different county in Texas also declined to indict Watson related to a case against Watson involving a woman from 2020. In Texas, a grand jury is required to find enough evidence of probable cause that a crime was committed in order to return an indictment. Anything less than that can result in no indictment.
Watson could still face discipline from the NFL upon the conclusion of the league-led investigation into the cases. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that “there’s no timeframe” on the league’s investigation, but that it was “looking at this seriously.”
Jim Thome, a five-time All-Star first baseman and designated hitter who played 22 seasons in MLB — including 13 in Cleveland — won the Silver Slugger award in 1996 and hit 612 career home runs, good for eighth on the all-time list.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Thome’s wife shares note from alleged Deshaun Watson victim