BEREA, Ohio _ Browns running back Isaiah Crowell believes he must do more to convince the masses his anti-police Instragram post doesn't define his character.
"I still have to prove it every day," he said Thursday on the eve of training camp opening.
Crowell has issued at least three public apologies, vowed to donate his first game check worth about $35,000 to the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation and attended the funeral of a slain policeman in an effort to make amends for posting an illustration of a masked man slashing the throat of an officer. He posted it earlier this month after police in Louisiana and Minnesota fatally shot black men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and before five officers in Dallas were killed by a gunman during a protest march.
The president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation spent eight hours with Crowell the day of Patrick Zamarripa's funeral in Fort Worth, Texas, and publicly forgave him. The president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association also publicly accepted an apology.
Still, Crowell has felt the wrath of fans on social media who haven't been as forgiving.
"I man up and apologize to everyone," he said. "I'm sorry to my fans and the whole Browns organization. I'll do my best to show everyone that's not who I am."
Despite an outcry for the Browns to release Crowell, they're standing by him.
"It starts with, obviously, grave disappointment in the actions in the first place, and we don't skip past that, but Crow to his credit, called both (coach) Hue (Jackson) and I on his own to be accountable," head of football operations Sashi Brown said. " ... He has taken steps ... to make something that was very wrong into a right."
When camp opens Friday, Crowell will be in front of fans for the first time since he became enveloped in controversy.
"I'm not really nervous. I understand if people say bad things," he said. "Whatever people say, I understand. Everyone has an opinion and are free to their opinion."
Crowell insisted he wants to have an open dialogue with police. He said he gained a new outlook on their jobs while attending Zamarripa's funeral.
He revealed relatives and friends have had run-ins with police in the past that contributed to his emotions when he posted the drawing, but he said that doesn't excuse his social-media misdeed.
Jackson said the stress of a firestorm could affect Crowell's performance this coming season, though the team will support him as much as it can.
"I feel like I can shake it off and move on," Crowell said.
