There is two ways about it. After yet another (the 24th if I’m counting them all correctly, though there could be more I don’t know about yet) lawsuit filed against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshan Watson was revealed, his looming suspension from the NFL should be for the upcoming season at a minimum.
Apart from that brief time when Ezekiel Elliott was constantly in suspension peril in 2017, I cannot think of, in the last decade, an NFL star player under so much legal scrutiny. At least 24 female masseuses have come forward saying Deshaun Watson harassed them during his time with the Houston Texans (actively playing: 2017-2020). That’s not a great look for Watson.
You know what was even worse for him. The Cleveland Browns trading three first-round draft picks (2022, 2023, 2024), one third -round pick (2023), and one fourth-round pick (2024), then giving him a $250 million contract FULLY GUARENTEED. Yes, Deshaun Watson not only became the most polarizing player in the NFL, but also the best paid player.
If he was trying to lie low and deal with all of these accusations against him quietly, he failed miserably. And, if the NFL does their job, it should cost him another season of not playing. When the MLB was faced with the Trevor Bauer situation, they suspended the player for a full TWO years. Yes, the MLB willingly suspended the player for two years to deal with the situation properly (unlike the NFL; it was the Texans who choose not to play Watson last season).
And for a league that has long mishandled disciplinary punishments, the NFL need to get this one right if they wish to keep a good reputation. A player going through countless lawsuits (with the chance of a few of them becoming criminal), should not be playing. It just casts too much negativity and takes away from the game of football. And the Browns and Watson knew this, so already acted.
Watson may be the best paid player in the NFL now, but he is only scheduled to make a grand total of $1 million out of his $250 million contact in the 2022/23 season. A loophole for any no-pay suspension the NFL could enforce upon the quarterback.
Both the Browns and Watson knew this massage scandal could escalate into more accusations, regardless of them being civil or criminal, and they structured Watson’s contract so that he would not suffer financial from a one-year suspension.
Now, I really don’t know who is innocent and who is lying in this case. Perhaps all of these women are making up these claims against Watson to extort money from him, or perhaps Watson truly is the monster and predator these 24 women claim. But that should not matter in Watson’s attempt to play while these allegations are clouding around him.
He needs to clear his name of these claims before he can play in the NFL again. Period.
Such allegations cannot be swept under the rug and pushed aside because the Browns need Watson to lead them to the playoffs. The NFL must keep a spotless reputation when it comes to criminal and civil disputes against players, and Watson’s participation in the NFL next season while he is under constant legal pressure only takes away from the game.
Hopefully the NFL does the right thing and sits Watson out for the year. Or, at least until his legal disputes are resolved in an appropriate manner.
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