Splish splash, this Browns photographer was taking a bath.
In a pretty on-brand Cleveland Browns moment, the team debuted a striking new brown alternate helmet called “Alpha Dawg” aboard a raft on Lake Erie, only for a photographer to steal the spotlight by taking one misstep and plunging dramatically into the water.
With two mascots in the picture and numerous cameras surrounding, some speculated it was a staged moment with the mascots’ dramatic reactions and the photographer’s fall looking a little too convenient.
The moment, talked about on ESPN’s new SC+ show with Gary Striewski and Randy Scott, was speculated to be fake as the moment involved a sanitary product brand, Dude Wipes, and may have been set up to get some publicity.
“Do you think it was staged?” Striewski asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past [them] because people love to go trending,” Scott replied. “But you know what, guy? We’re not even going to say your name. I mean, look, I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
The video quality is another concern when diving into the video’s authenticity, as it appears to be taken in 4K while a bystander on a boat recorded the interaction.
Regardless of it being staged or not, it was a laughable moment to start a Browns season that is expected to be filled with them.
Cleveland is coming off a 3-14 season, tied for the NFL’s worst record with the Giants and Titans, and a four-man QB battle between Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel is playing out at training camp.
The decision to pick two rookie QBs — Gabriel and Sanders — put added attention on the situation, especially given the spotlight that is on Deion Sanders’ son after he fell to the fifth round of the NFL draft in April.
The Browns’ projected win total over/under of 6.5 is among the lowest in the NFL this year.