And the pattern is exactly why the league didn't get their year long suspension. Watson could find a way to make it about race and possibly turn himself into the victim. Imagine his legal team in court and the media talking about why is it okay for Kraft to go get happy endings but not Watson? Don't kid yourself if you think Kraft's bust was a "one time deal" either, or that he's the only owner who either took advantage of masseurs, or sought out masseurs for the purpose of sexual gratification. Snyder was at the helm of Washington when they seemingly tried to prostitute team cheerleaders (the team took their passports and sent them to flirt with sponsors) and distribute involuntary pornographic images of them. Imagine his legal team bringing up the lack of consequences for both Kraft and Snyder? Those NDAs Snyder had women sign aren't ironclad, and any mention of them by Watson's legal team could bring enough public attention back to them for the league to be have to answer tough questions again. I think the league would ultimately win and be able to suspend Watson for a year, but the league knows all it needs to do is get the season to start and then those headlines will get lost in the new league year news cycle.
It's tricky for the league to pass a new policy for players with regards to Watson's misconduct because so much is established by the precedents set earlier in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. There is no way the NFLPA would budge without some form of concession from owners. I don't see this as an issue the league will bring the union to the table for, particularly when they have their own skeletons they need to clear out first. It's doubtful that Snyder and Kraft are the only ones either, I think there are a bunch of owners who threw hush-money at women to sign NDAs.
I have no issue with the Ridley suspension. The league 100% had to set the precedent that active players can't bet on games. The number one way to sink a pro sports league is for people not to trust the validity of the results. They had to make an example of the first guy to discourage the next player who maybe would have had more sinister intentions from even risking it.
The issue is that the DV suspensions are way too soft. Shit like this needs to start at a year and go up from there. That's the only way to actually scare players out of doing it.
Which only further shows, this league has no integrity. What aboutisms are in play for sure, and they dealt with those just as poorly. But Watson is happening now, and at some point the league has to draw a line. I guess, black QB, is just to much. It tells me, if you are brown and a star your are safe, or if you own a team and are extremely wealthy you are untouchable. Really have very little desire to support it anymore.
The Player Conduct Policy specifically has some line worded like "club employees and owners are held to higher standards" which could factor into a Watson court case against the NFL if they choose to drag this out.
It's interesting, because the Broncos did hold their executives accountable for their DUI infractions with 30 and 60 day suspensions seemingly beyond the player guidelines for substance abuse. I'm sure there are other examples, but I don't think they exist in the area of sexual misconduct.
The NFL has appealed the suspension. Goodell will designate someone to re-evaluate the case, and potentially add more games. I still think it will be tricky for the league to extend the penalty by any substantial amount of time without a prolonged battle in Federal court.
What this does is set up Watson to play week one…the NFLPA will sue, seek a temporary restraining order until it’s settled, and he gets to play….until they lose..
The Texans hope more games are tacked onto the suspension since they own the Browns' first-round pick next spring. Making him sit 12+ games almost assures a top-5 draft position on top of their own suckass draft position. The Texans will need it too given their awful draft back in April - a CB with a history of injury troubles and an OL who can only play guard at the next level. That's what they got with two top-15 draft choices.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
The dancing on Buff's grave is about to be back on!
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...tory-behavior/
Roger Goodell: Deshaun Watson committed “multiple violations” with “egregious” and “predatory behavior”
Posted by Mike Florio*on*August 9, 2022, 4:50 PM EDT
Yep, the NFL will be throwing the book at Browns quarterback*Deshaun Watson.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Roger Goodell met with reporters in connection with the meeting held specifically for approving the sale of the Broncos. Goodell, who appointed Peter Harvey to handle the appeal of the six-game suspension imposed on Watson by Judge Sue L. Robinson, made his feelings clear about Watson’s misconduct.
Asked why the league is seeking a one-year suspension of Watson, Goodell provided a blunt and strong assessment.
“Because we’ve seen the evidence,” Goodell said, via James Palmer of NFL Network. “[Judge Robinson] was very clear about the evidence. . . that there were multiple violations here, and they were egregious an it was predatory behavior. Those are things that we always felt were important for us to address in a way that’s responsible.”
Who is Judge Robinson?
Originally Posted by Sting
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