Perhaps Catherine Hickman believed she had been sent to Los Angeles with Myles Garrett too.
The Browns’ assistant general manager and vice president of football operations created a stir Wednesday afternoon when she wore a gray hole-filled sweatshirt with “Los Angeles Made Me Do It” inscribed on the front to her preseason press conference in Ohio.
Many on X questioned the attire choice.
“There’s not a franchise in sports that has such little self awareness to let their assistant GM hold a press conference with that sweatshirt on,” X user @MikeR5577 wrote Wednesday afternoon in a post that had generated 1.2 million views as of Thursday morning. “In a vacuum it’s not a big deal but if you follow them closely it tells you the whole story of who they are.”
Hoodies certainly have their place in football — just ask Bill Belichick — but it’s a little unusual to see an executive wear attire that promotes a city in which another team plays.
It would be natural to wonder if Hickman had ties to Los Angeles, but she’s a Montreal native and has not worked for neither the Rams nor the Chargers.
The ironic part of the outfit is that Hickman and the rest of the Browns’ front office made a monumental decision this offseason to send Garrett, their star pass rusher, to the Rams in exchange for three picks — one first-, one second- and one third-rounder — plus talented young pass rusher Jared Verse.
It’s certainly possible the blowback against this outfit could be an ominous sign for the Browns heading into a 2026 season in which they are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league.
Cleveland is opting to start embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson in a polarizing decision and backup Shedeur Sanders has yet to show he’s a franchise cornerstone.
The one hope for Browns fans is another bad year could result in one of the top quarterbacks like Arch Manning or Dante Moore coming to Cleveland or perhaps standout receiver Jeremiah Smith.
“Everything we do is to win football games, that’s how we make our decisions, that’s how we think about it as an organization,” Hickman said when asked about the backlash to starting Watson.
“That’s not different at that position.”
Hickman joined the Browns in 2022 and her fast rise could potentially result in her becoming the sport’s first woman general manager.
She reportedly was the first woman to interview for a general manager position in 2022 when she applied for the Vikings’ opening.
