The NFL will still suspend Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson for a full season, if they believe he can stand up to the Court of Appeals.
The independent disciplinary officer, Judge Sue Robinson, determined that while Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy enough to warrant Six commentary matchesThere was a lack of evidence to justify the indefinite leave.
This is all despite 25 allegations of sexual misconduct against Watson. The league has suspended more games (arguably) less, with the most recent examples being DeAndre Hopkins (PEDs, six games) and Calvin Ridley (gambling, full season). One would hope that sexual misconduct towards women would have serious consequences, but this ruling does not support that thought.
The Watson camp and the NFL will accept this six-game suspension as is, should the league office decline. However, Roger Goodell has three days to accept the verdict, and if he doesn’t, a whole can of worms and another set of appeals will be opened.
Why was Deshaun Watson suspended?
Watson was suspended six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, with 25 women accusing him of sexual misconduct. The Cleveland Browns quarterback has settled all but one of the lawsuits against him.
While the NFL initially stated that it would accept nothing less than a full seasonal suspension for Watson, they are now backed into a corner. Appointing an independent judge was supposed to take all questions out of the equation, but instead made Goodell’s job more difficult, as he is the only one keeping Watson off the playing field once again.
Failing to make more of a statement could alienate a large portion of the league’s fan base – the women. In many ways, the NFL has struggled to recover from past mishaps (eg: Ray Rice and Ben Roethlisberger).
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