If you thought the Deshaun Watson saga was over, think again.
On Monday, Sept. 9, the Browns quarterback was once again accused of sexual assault via a court filing in Harris County, Texas that concerns an incident from October 2020. In 2022, Watson served an 11-game suspension after having 24 lawsuits filed against him earlier that year. As of Sept. 2024, 23 of the 24 lawsuits from 2022 have been settled, but the most recent case may be the most damning yet.
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents Watson’s accuser, outlined the plaintiff’s plan in an email to ESPN. “We will be scheduling a meeting with the NFL and hope that can be accomplished in the next two weeks,” Buzbee wrote. “We have a video and two additional witnesses for the NFL to speak with.”
Once again, Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin vehemently denied any wrongdoing on the quarterback’s end. “We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated,” Hardin wrote in a statement.
This new accusation means that the remaining $92 million in Watson’s contract now hangs in the balance. According to a report by ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, Watson is only exempt from the threat of a voided contract if this specific incident was disclosed to the team before he signed the deal in 2022.
Though the situation remains unclear, the revival of accusations against Watson has led to speculation about how the NFL has handled the quarterback’s case to this point. Was the NFL right to only suspend Watson for 11 games in 2022? And, more importantly, what will the league do now?
Commissioner Roger Goodell is set up to turn this case into a landmark for the league’s overall misconduct policy. In a statement, the NFL announced that Watson would not be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, and he opened the season as Cleveland’s starter.
So, since the NFL’s investigation is not far enough along, Watson is allowed to roam free on the NFL sidelines with an ominous dark cloud hanging over his head. It begs the question: If the Browns won’t bench their quarterback, why can’t the league step in?
If this was Watson’s first accusation, the league’s passivity would make a lot more sense. But now, with 23 checks being written in order to avoid more serious punishment, it seems that Goodell has more than enough precedent to intervene in the situation as early as possible. Watson is taking full advantage of his ‘innocent until proven guilty’ status, and if his monster deal is truly in jeopardy, it’s likely he’ll do everything in his power to settle this case before it can truly see the light of day.
This situation is problematic. It’s essentially the NFL sending a message — if Watson’s pockets are deep enough, he can get away with anything.
Many may argue that, since there is no definitive proof either way, the league is unable to do anything about the situation. However, the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual states that “the Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances.”
I would argue that this scenario certainly qualifies as an unusual circumstance, and Goodell has every right to take Watson out in order to pursue a thorough investigation. It’s only a bad decision if Watson is proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt, and even that unlikely situation can be resolved with an apology on the league’s end. For now, considering the massive amount of bargaining leverage currently possessed by the plaintiff, it’s likely that Watson will be paying to add this allegation to a list that’s already 23 cases long, so long as he can save his career and money.
Sure, Watson can still attempt to settle even if he is suspended, but not allowing him to stay in the spotlight in the heat of some very serious allegations is still a sensible decision. It’s time the NFL starts treating these cases seriously, and that can only happen if Goodell takes the initiative.
