Houston mayor Sylvester Turner is using his platform to help smooth things over with the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The 62nd mayor in city history, who took office over a year before the Watson era in January 2016, took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon and expressed his thoughts on the Texans and Watson making up after a bumpy start to the offseason.
“Houston loves @deshaunwatson and the @HoustonTexans,” Turner tweeted from his official account. “Houston is a great City that is hungry to back our players and team. As a Mayor of a City that is second to none I pray we move forward together.”
Houston loves @deshaunwatson and the @HoustonTexans. Houston is a great City that is hungry to back our players and team. As Mayor of a City that is second to none I pray we move forward together. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) January 24, 2021
Turner is a Houstonian through and through. Born in 1954 and a graduate of Klein High School, Turner assuredly remembers how the Houston Oilers wove themselves into the fabric of the Bayou City, and similarly how devastating it was to see owner Bud Adams rip them away and give them a new identity — like a loved one brainwashed and held captive in an oppressive cult.
While the city of Houston may be at DEFCON 4 at a maximum with the Watson situation, it nonetheless is on a trajectory that could provide as much heartbreak the city has endured since the departure of the Oilers in 1997. Turner’s words on Twitter are from a mayor who has the memories and historical perspective of what Houston NFL football means to the city, and how they can’t undergo similar heartache.
