CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns star Myles Garrett is trying to play the hits, but his instrument sounds out of tune. Garrett says he “always” planned to finish his career with the Browns. He views Cleveland as his home, its football team like a family. And here comes the flat note: Never mind the month Garrett spent trying to bully this organization into trading him. “... Just like family," Garrett said Friday, “sometimes you fight, and you have to go through things. You have to build through adversity. We’ll get through this, and we’ll come out right on the other side.” Maybe. Eventually. But right now? Garrett’s media war against Cleveland stains his relationship with the city. Sure, families fight all the time. But most do so in private. And Garrett’s argument included public demands to be disowned. Does he think we forgot? Three weeks before Garrett celebrated a new contract with cupcakes and toy dinosaurs, sources told Cleveland.com he had no interest in signing one. This came after the star edge rusher issued a statement that prioritized winning elsewhere over Browns’ heroics. Not to mention the week Garrett’s spent broadcasting his unhappiness — and, by association, Cleveland’s ineptitude — before the Super Bowl. To refresh your memory, Garrett told Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Rich Eisen Show — anyone who would listen, really —that Cleveland wasn’t ready to win on his timeline. He told Eisen that he sought advice from LeBron James on how to handle this situation (read: how to leave town). And in case Garrett’s intentions were still unclear to you, Eisen asked what the edge rusher wanted to happen next. “A trade to happen next,” Garrett said. “I just want to go to a contender.” Five weeks later, Garrett re-framed his smear campaign as a power play designed to alert Cleveland leadership of his displeasure with last year’s 3-14 finish. Pretty sure Cleveland heard his threat against rebuilding in December, but I guess it never hurts to be thorough. Besides, from Garrett’s perspective, hard conversations spark stronger bonds. Garrett requested a trade; The Browns said no. Garrett dragged their name on national airwaves; Cleveland responded with the most expensive non-quarterback contract in league history. Aren’t you glad we had this talk? “I think I had some frustration, and I feel like that helped us grow and have conversations that were difficult but needed to be had,” Garrett said. “And that created a little bit more discourse, helped build some relationships and reaffirm them. And now I feel like we’re in a better place and now we can move on and grow from there.” Again, maybe. Eventually. But as of Friday, Garrett’s rendition of “Cleveland Rocks” is missing something. Maybe his guitar needs tuning. Or the Browns' media room needs better acoustics. Or, or, or: Maybe it’s hard to walk back a month’s worth of aired grievances in one day. Like Garrett on radio row, I’m probably wasting my breath here. Fans forgive superstars like Garrett beats left tackles (in a blink). And despite the pain it caused, Cleveland always understood his gripe against the Browns. Management did fail Garrett last season. The Browns aren’t close to winning a championship. A late-prime superstar has every right to want out. But when said star asks for a trade, paints the franchise as public enemy, then plays the “family” card, he loses me. Garrett can (and did) say he needed to decompress after a frustrating end to the season. He can (and did) acknowledge that every great player prioritizes winning over everything. And he can (likely will) re-affirm his commitment to Cleveland with another All-Pro season next year. But he can’t erase the last month of ugly, public barbs from the record. This time last month, Garrett told us his family was holding him back. He couldn’t wait to leave his home. And remember how he “always” planned to play his last down here? “The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton,” Garrett wrote. How quickly tunes change.