Sources: Deshaun Watson to be suspended for six games

Should the Cleveland Browns quarterback file an appeal, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell could then preside over the appeal process, or appoint an independent mediator to handle it.

deshaun watsonquarterback of the cleveland brownswill be suspended for six matchesdetermined this Monday the disciplinary officer Sue L Robinsona league source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Watson he will not be fined, a source told Schefter.

resolution of Robinson consists of 15 pages and indicates that, although Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policies, there was insufficient evidence to warrant an indefinite suspension, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA for its acronym in English) issued a statement Sunday night making it clear that he will “support” the decision to Robinson and invited the NFL to do the same.

The parties would have three days to file a written appeal. In this case, the commissioner of the NFL or its designee “will issue a written decision that will constitute a total, final and complete disposition of the dispute”, in accordance with the provisions of article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement.

Watson was accused by multiple women of sexual assault and harassment during massage sessions, while he was still a player for the Houston Texans.

With the announcement of the player’s suspension, and discounting a potential appeal, they could accumulate just under a season and a half of official inactivity for the quarterback, after he sat out the 2021 campaign — still with the franchise. houston— when he requested at the beginning of the 2021 campaign break to be traded due to disagreements with management over the general manager hiring process Nick Caserio by the Texans. Soon after, legal problems began to Watsonand the team kept him on the active squad, but without playing.

The disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA for its acronym in English), Sue L Robinsona former federal judge, determined the duration of the sanction for Watsonafter meeting with the player and taking into account the recommendation of the league itself.

In the event of an appeal, the commissioner of the NFLRoger Goodellcould then preside over the appeal process, or appoint an independent mediator to handle it.

There were 23 lawsuits filed against Watson from March 16 to April 14, 2021. One was dropped after the judge determined that each petition be modified to include the name of each of the plaintiffs. In early June, two more lawsuits were filed against Watsonbringing the total to 24 civil lawsuits.

At the end of june, Watson –26-years-old–settled for an undisclosed amount with 20 of the 24 women in the civil suit. The plaintiffs allege that she harassed, assaulted and inappropriately touched them during massage sessions when she was playing for the Texans.

The four cases that remain standing could go to trial, something that will not happen until 2023.

The Texans were formally named as co-defendants in one of the active civil lawsuits against Watson on Monday, June 27.

Last month, the Texans reached settlements with 30 women who filed or were preparing to file complaints against the organization for its alleged role in the accusations against Watson.

If your suspension is upheld, Watson may participate in practices during the preseason. You will also be allowed to return with the Brown’s to practice during the second half of the suspension, in Week 4, according to the collective bargaining agreement. But he will not be allowed to be with the team during the first half of the suspension.

“Today, we filed the first of what we hope will be many lawsuits against the Houston Texans in relation to the conduct of deshaun watson. Suffice it to say that the overwhelming evidence collected is indicative that the Houston Texans allowed the behavior Watson It’s fulminating,” he said. Tony Buzbeethe area attorney for houston who, at one point, represented 25 different women with civil lawsuits against Watson.

The New York Times reported in early June that Watson booked dates with at least 66 different women over 17 months, from the fall of 2019 to the spring of 2021. The list of 66 includes the 24 women who have filed lawsuits. against Watson; a woman who sued Watson but withdrew the legal action; two women who criminally denounced Watson but they did not sue him civilly; at least 15 therapists who issued statements of support in favor of Watson, at the request of their lawyers; at least four therapists contracted with the Texans; five women identified by the plaintiffs’ attorneys during the investigation into their claims; and at least 15 other women whose dates with Watson they were confirmed through interviews and records reviewed by the Times.

A few of those additional women spoke publicly for the first time with the Times. A woman, who did not sue Watson nor did she report him to the police, she told the newspaper that he was persistent in his requests for sexual acts during the massage.

On March 25, during the press conference for the presentation of Watson with the Brown’sHe said he had no “regrets” about his actions during any of the massage sessions. In mid-June, during his second appearance in front of reporters as a member of the organization of cleveland, Watson He continued to deny any wrongdoing: “Like I said, I never assaulted anyone. I never harassed anyone. I never disrespected anyone. I never forced anyone to do anything.”

Although two grand juries in Texas declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson at the beginning of this year, the NFL conducted its own investigation into whether he violated its code of conduct, and interviewed the quarterback in person in late May as part of that investigation. During the league’s spring owners meeting, commissioner Goodell said he thought the NFL he was nearing the end of his investigation, but said at the time that he could not offer a time frame for announcing a determination.

houston transferred to Watson to the Brown’s in March, after the first grand jury announced that it would not bring criminal charges against Watson. cleveland signed to Watson to a five-year, $230 million contract extension upon arrival, after convincing the three-time pick to Pro Bowl to nullify its no-exchange clause. He thus joined the team looking to bounce back from a disappointing 8-9 season in 2021. It is the contract with the most guaranteed money in league history. NFL.

“I can’t control it. I did everything I was asked to do. I answered each question truthfully. NFL“, said Watson before the press in cleveland, in the middle of June. “I spent hours with the people they sent. It’s all I can do, be honest and tell them exactly what happened. They have a job and I respect that. And what we want to do is cooperate. They have to make a decision that’s best for them.” for the league.”

Information from Sarah Barshop, Jake Trotter, John Barr, and AP was used in writing this story.