By: Alex Yang
More than a year after the sexual assault allegations against player Deshaun Watson came to light, the NFL is nearing the end of its investigation into the matter, and they are ready to argue for a suspension of Watson for at least one year. The hearing has been scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Cleveland's quarterback is accused of sexual assault and misconduct in a whopping 24 civil lawsuits. The league will try to prove that Watson, who was accused of sexual misconduct in civil lawsuits filed by said women, violates the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The NFL Players Association is expected to argue against former U.S. judge Sue L. Robinson, for far less severe punishment against Watson, perhaps even seeking no suspension at all.
Watson so far has not been charged with a crime and has denied all the allegations against him. He reached settlements in 20 of the 24 lawsuits filed against him by the women, according to the attorney representing the people who filed the charges, Tony Buzbee .
A person on Watson’s side of the case said Friday that the league will “probably seek a suspension of one full season.” And a person familiar with the league’s view cautioned to be careful about specifying a specific length of a suspension the NFL will seek at this point in the case. But that person also said that “significant would be the proper term.”
So what does this all mean, and how will this impact the rules and the NFL?. The NFL has announced that there would be “no impact” on the league’s disciplinary process. The NFL had also decided to not suspend owners of these sports teams and other sports teams whose players have been charged for incidents. Therefore, this case is just a question of what will happen and how long Watson will be suspended for.
Links: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/deshaun-watson-suspension-news-nfl-browns-season/mjlhag044bhbwcwcddr04ivk#:~:text=Cleveland%20Browns-,Deshaun%20Watson%20suspension%20news%3A%20NFL%20wants%20indefinite%20suspension%20for%20Browns,one%2Dyear%20minimum%2C%20report%20says&text=The%20NFL%20has%20been%20mostly,misconduct%20in%20March%20of%202021.
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