The NFL and NFLPA finalized an agreement to suspend Watson for 11 games and deal him a $5 million fine.
Editor’s note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have issued a statement in the wake of Deshaun Watson’s final discipline being announced, saying in part “We understand this is a real opportunity to create meaningful change.”
“As we have previously conveyed, Deshaun and his representatives have abided by the NFL and NFLPA structure awaiting a final decision and we have respected the process. Now that a decision on discipline has been reached, we understand this is a real opportunity to create meaningful change and we are committed to investing in programs in Northeast Ohio that will educate our youth regarding awareness, understanding, and most importantly, prevention of sexual misconduct and the many underlying causes of such behavior.
“Since Deshaun entered our building, he has been an outstanding member of our organization and shown a true dedication to working on himself both on and off the field. We will continue to support him as he focuses on earning the trust of our community.”
The league appealed disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson’s six-game ruling. As Roger Goodell’s designee, former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey, worked to determine his own ruling, Watson’s camp and the NFL reportedly had settlement talks, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. The NFL and NFLPA finalized an agreement to suspend Watson for 11 games and deal him a $5 million fine.
Watson will also undergo counseling. This final decision comes in the wake of the quarterback not only playing in the team’s first preseason game, at Jacksonville, but also saying he is “truly sorry to all of the women that [he has] impacted in this situation.” He had previously continued to deny the allegations against him. On Thursday, Watson released a statement following the suspension news.
Goodell reportedly wanted Watson to be suspended for at least one year, calling Watson’s behavior “egregious” and “predatory.” The Associated Press reported the quarterback was willing to accept an eight-game suspension and a heavy fine.
Following the initial six-game suspension recommendation, Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam released a statement on the matter, saying in part, “We know Deshaun is remorseful that this situation has caused much heartache to many and he will continue the work needed to show who he is on and off the field, and we will continue to support him.”
The league’s investigation began last year as massage therapists sued the quarterback alleging sexual harassment and sexual assault. From March 2021 to June ’22, more than two dozen civil lawsuits were filed with only one dropped due to privacy concerns in April ’21. The accounts range from Watson refusing to cover his genitals to the quarterback “touching [a plaintiff] with his penis and trying to force her to perform oral sex on him.”
At one point, Watson faced two Texas grand juries, which each declined to indict him on criminal charges earlier this spring. Shortly after a Harris County grand jury returned nine “no” bills on nine criminal complaints against Watson, Cleveland traded for and signed the quarterback to a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. There is a clause built into the contract where the quarterback will face minimal financial damage if suspended.
Watson agreed to settle 20 of the 24 remaining active civil lawsuits in late June, and those cases have since been disposed, per the Harris County District Clerk’s website. Watson reportedly agreed to settle three of the remaining four civil suits filed against him ahead of Robinson’s disciplinary decision.
Robinson stated in her 16-page report that “the NFL carried its burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Watson engaged in sexual assault (as defined by the NFL) against the four therapists identified in the Report.” Additionally, the former federal judge found that the Browns’ quarterback engaged in conduct that created “a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person, and conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL.”
Robinson concluded that Watson’s behavior “does not fall into the category of violent conduct that would require the minimum six-game suspension” that the NFL had established as “by far the most commonly imposed discipline for domestic or gendered violence and sexual acts.”
Watson will not be able to return to the field until Week 13 when the Browns face the Texans in December.
