Deshaun Watson Suspended 11 Games, Fined $5 Million
On Thursday it was announced that quarterback for the Cleveland Browns Deshaun Watson will be suspended 11 games and fined $5 million. He will also have to go through counseling and undergo evaluation for violating the NFL’s personal misconduct policy.
Watson, the NFL and the Browns will contribute $1 million each and create a fund supporting nonprofits in the United States. The NFL said in announcing their settlement,
“Educate young people on healthy relationships, promote education and prevention of sexual misconduct and assault, support survivors and related causes.”
Watson will have to comply with evaluation and treatment recommendations from a third-party behavioral expert in order to be reinstated. If not he will face more disciplinary actions and could delay his reinstatement.
To be suspended for only 11 games seems underwhelming considering there were 24 women who filed lawsuits against Watson. In context the fine he has to pay is small considering the fact his fully guaranteed contract is worth $230 million.
Throughout this whole process Watson has maintained his innocence. He has said he never sexually assaulted or disrespected anyone. He has apologized but mainly because people were “triggered”. Seems like he didn’t learn much but the fact that he would like to move on with his life. Hopefully the counseling can help because it will not be easy to move on from something like this.
To give an example on why Watson won’t be able to just move on, the Browns were so concerned about Watson getting a massage without incident the team put together a plan as soon as they traded for him.
If you ask the co-owner of the Browns Jimmy Haslam if he regrets trading for Watson he would tell you no. He even gave a speech on people deserving second chances. The Browns want Watson to stick around long-term.
“I think it’s important to remember, Deshaun is 26 years old and is a high-level NFL quarterback, and we’re planning on him being our quarterback for a long time,” Haslam said Thursday.
Co-owner Dee Haslam seemed to disagree with Watson stating that he was innocent.
“We respect his opinion. I do think in counseling Deshaun will learn a lot more about himself.”
“Counseling takes time. You do not just go to a counseling session, wake up and understand the impact it has. I think it is a layering effect, and it takes weeks, months and a long time to get to where you understand so much more about yourself,” she said.
This case was one of the most troubling for the NFL. They have had a bunch of allegations before but nothing like this. No one on both sides are happy about the way this turned out but that’s what happens in settlements. His lack of accountability is what has most people on edge. Maybe counseling will change his perception on everything. Watson will not be able to come back until week 13 when the Browns travel to face his old team the Houston Texans.
