The NFL is officially appealing the recently announced Deshaun Watson suspension, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The league had until 8am CT Thursday to file an appeal.
Disciplinary officer Sue Robinson suspended the Browns quarterback for six games, a number that came in well short of what the NFL hoped. Weeks ago, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported the NFL would not sit by if a six- or eight-game ban came down. This long-rumored action will put the union to the test. The NFLPA said it would not appeal Robinson’s initial decision, but now that the NFL has launched its effort, the ball is in the union’s court.
No compromise is in play here. Long connected to seeking a full-season Watson suspension, the NFL will again push for that upon appeal, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. The league will push to see Watson suspended indefinitely, per The Ringer’s Lindsay Jones (on Twitter). It has not been a secret the NFL wants Watson off the field in 2022. The league argued for such a ban during the June hearing.
The NFL wants Watson fined as well, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington (on Twitter). No fine was included in Monday’s suspension. The Browns structured Watson’s contract so he would make the league minimum in 2022, thus reducing his fine when a suspension came. As for the Browns, they had no comment on the appeal, Cabot tweets.
The NFLPA has two days to respond to this move. With Roger Goodell or a Goodell appointee overseeing the appeal — the setup the league and the union agreed to when the parties hammered out the current CBA in March 2020 — the union would not seem to have much hope of keeping this suspension at six games. A move to shift this matter to the courts surfaced during Robinson’s deliberation. While Tom Brady and Ezekiel Elliott ended up serving their suspensions despite lengthy legal sagas, it would surprise if the union stood pat if this appeal leads to an increased Watson penalty. The NFLPA likely will take NFL to court, Cabot writes.
This offseason’s defining story doubled as the first usage of the independent arbitrator for a personal conduct policy violation. While the NFL risks further damaging its relationship with the NFLPA by moving to change Robinson’s decision, this is the policy the union approved — albeit by a narrow vote — when the CBA was ratified. Barring the union earning a surprise victory in court, Goodell’s decision will stand. An injunction could open the door to Watson playing to start the season, as Brady and Elliott did while courts addressed their suspensions, but the NFL’s CBA held up in those cases.
This news will certainly affect the Browns’ prospects for a successful 2022 season. The team has faced waves of criticism for authorizing the fully guaranteed $230MM contract — a measure that convinced Watson to choose Cleveland over NFC South suitors — after 22 women had sued the Pro Bowl quarterback alleging sexual assault and/or sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Two more women filed suit after Watson joined the Browns, who were not expecting a full-season suspension when they sent the Texans a trade package of three first-round picks and change. Monday, then, represented a positive development for the team. Wednesday’s news does not.
Although a statement from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said Watson was remorseful, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com said during a TV appearance Watson remains adamant he did nothing wrong (Twitter link via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith). Watson has maintained this stance throughout the offseason. Two grand juries did not indict the embattled QB, and the NFLPA argued no suspension was necessary. But Robinson’s report indicated Watson-perpetrated sexual assault and misconduct did take place.
In her report, Robinson concluded Watson committed sexual assault and described the 26-year-old’s pattern of nonviolent sexual conduct as “more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL.” The sexual assault being deemed nonviolent helped induce Robinson to settle on six games, but the language she used when describing her conclusion undoubtedly opened the door for the league to act. Watson is no longer permitted to go through with non-team-approved massages for the rest of his career. The NFL is also seeking the sixth-year veteran to undergo treatment, Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets.
The Browns have Jacoby Brissett in place to start while Watson is suspended. Jimmy Garoppolo rumors have effectively been shut down, but going from Watson to Brissett would obviously be a crushing blow for a Browns team that would seemingly be positioned to contend with the former running the show. The team, which traded four-year starter Baker Mayfield to the Panthers in early July, has Joshua Dobbs and the recently signed Josh Rosen in place behind Brissett.
I wonder if there will be a happy ending
Doubtful but both sides will likely end up with a mess on their hands.
updated standings AFC
1. Bills 16-1
2. Broncos 15-2
3. Bengals 13-4
4. Raiders 12-5
5. Jags 10-7
6. Ravens 12-5
7. Chiefs 11-6
–
8. Colts 10-7
9. Dolphins 9-8
10. Chargers 9-8
11. Steelers 8-9
12. Patriots 8-9
13. Jets 7-10
14. Texans 6-11
15. Titans 5-12
16. Browns 2-15
Lol @ broncos. Last place. Love to hear how they Are better than chiefs and raiders and chargers.
I’m not predicting that Denver will be the best team in the division by default, but I’d like to see your case that the Raiders are definitely better than them.
Agreed. Only way Denver goes 15-2 is if we’re talking 15 arrests and 2 convictions.
Are the Jags #5 and the record wrong or is the order wrong and the record correct?
I didn’t write this list but I can absolutely see the Jags make the playoffs this year. Look at the jump Wentz made year two under Pederson. Lawrence is a better prospect than Wentz and the division is not led by a super team/juggernaut like most divisions.
Look at the regression Wentz made under Pedersen too
Fair. But Lawrence is the better prospect and Wentz hasn’t impressed under other coaches/teams as well.
Is Lawrence a better prospect? Lots of quarterbacks drafted very high never amounted to anything despite multiple chances with different coaches. I’m not saying he won’t be good but you shouldn’t say he will be good. Time will tell
And to think your idol is scheduled to come back during Breast Cancer Awareness month. Can’t wait to see that pos wearing pink to “honor” women. What a joke.
Wentz benefitted by having an OL that dominated time of possession for a couple of seasons. I don’t see that in Jacksonville.
jags win division
Good job, Jimmy the Gleek
CLE is good enough even with Brisket to win probably 5-6 games as a floor.
They won 8 games last year and had 22 guys on covid and had starters miss close to 50 games. All that and a 26th rated quarterback. I think a healthy Brissett is better than an injured Mayfield
Hahahaha.
The Road to the Playoffs goes through Kansas City!
Finally, some sanity for the NFL. Just hope they go far enough.
The NFLPA has nothing to say about this case. The decision ultimately resides with the NFL as per the agreement.
That won’t stop the union from trying. Even if it is a waste of time
Na. This ain’t sanity. It’s sexist vanity. The league pretends to give a female judge authority to make a decision and then mansplains why she was “wrong.”
Lol. Perfect!
Wow what a take. And spot on.
She made a poor decision. Just because a woman makes a decision doesn’t mean it was a good one or the correct one. Janet Yellen, the head of the most powerful institution in the world, decided that Biden’s stimulus package wouldn’t cause inflation. Even though it is clear to anyone that has taken a course in ECO 101 and stayed in the class for a month you have learned that printing money you don’t back with anything and pump it into the economy leads to inflation, she finally came out after the fact and said she was wrong.
They gave her authority to make A decision, not the FINAL decision.
Inflation is up in EVERY single country in the world because of pandemic related supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine.
If you think the policy choices of any one country (especially the one you already have an axe in the grinder for) you are either a mindless partisan wind up toy or need to stay for more than the first day of that Econ 101 course.
Or more likely both.
This inflation started as soon as Biden got into office. The FED even agreed that the policy they enacted (Biden’s policy) caused this inflation.
He printed trillions of dollars we didn’t have and didn’t have anything backing it up and stuffed it into the economy, which in turn devalued the dollar, which caused inflation.
Biden’s policies raised the price of fuel and caused inflation. Period.
I am no mindless partisan. I am somebody who went to and actually studied and passed a college level economics class.
To be fair Trump started the stimulus checks.
And he even delayed them so he could sign them
And the economy boomed under Trump until the pandemic hit.
One course, eh? Wow. So, you are like an expert, then?
Since the pandemic started, the former guy pumped about $10 trillion into the economy between his $2000 stimulus checks, his $600 stimulus checks, PPP, the Fed’s quantitative easing, etc. whereas Biden has only put about $2.5 trillion into the economy.
So, if you want to claim that the $2.5 B that Biden put into the economy caused inflation ALL OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD, so be it, it’s wrong and dumb, but….OK, for the sake of argument…
You then have to admit and accept that the former guy’s $10 trillion caused 4 times as much inflation as Biden’s $2.5 trillion OR else you reveal yourself for a partisan stooge boot licking chump.
Which would you prefer?
I’m OK with either outcome.
I don’t have to accept what isn’t true, which is your entire statement.
Biden caused inflation HERE, in the USA. It isn’t dumb, it is the truth. You can try to spin it all you want and try to blame other people, but this happened under his watch as a direct result of his policies.
You think I care what some idiot on a message board thinks of me that doesn’t understand the truth at all? Sure you sucking up to Biden doesn’t make you a partisan bootlicker. Get out of here you communist.
So, you went with B. Got it.
Also, since you have now exposed yourself as a mindless partisan windup toy…a follow up question…
Care to explain why this black guy with 24 sexual assault accusers is bad, but that orange guy with 27 sexual assault accusers is not?
Rhetorical question…
We know both the answers.
Both shouldn’t be or have been allowed to hold the positions they had/have.
Was that the answer you were looking for???
Josh Bell…for once we agree. And to go further, this is the only thing Watson has ever been accused of where the orange guy, assaulting 26 women is not even the worst thing he’s done
And just for fun…
Are you claiming the $10 trillion that one guy spent did NOT cause inflation BUT that the $2.5 trillion a different guy did spend did?
It’s utterly moronic and you need only common sense to see it, but partisan mind warping is going to force you to make that claim, right?
Yes or no?
Lost me at Communist name calling. Nothing which FWJBT wrote suggests he is a communist. There’s been a big issue with printing money which is not backed by new goods and services in the US. The issue is bipartisan and goes back to at least 2008.
The seeds of this inflation were sown in 2008 and after with perennial periods of zero percent interest rates and ever escalating programs of QE (i.e. money printing). And why does this happen? A big reason is because the federal government has an insatiable desire to spend money that it doesn’t have, regardless of which political party controls the White House and/or Congress. COVID didn’t cause this inflation problem. COVID, and particularly the federal government’s ‘stimulative response’ to it, caused inflation to finally manifest in consumer prices.
People have been saying that excessive govt spending will cause inflation for decades now.
When Reagan took office, US debt was less than $1 trillion. Today it’s near $30 trillion.
And very little inflation occured.
UNTIL manufacturers couldn’t get wood and plastic and latex and everything else they need because of supply chain issues related to the pandemic and China constantly shutting down.
But the inflation hawks who have been screaming into the wind for 40 years are trying to have their faux broken clock moment.
PS- One other key component of the current inflation issue is price gouging. RECORD profits all around.
Why?
Corporations know that about 35% of Americans are more than happy to bend over and take it hard and fast if they can blame people they are predisposed to blame.
In fact, they could even say to them “I’m robbing you blind, but you can blame the current POTUS for it, deal?”
“Yee haw! You got yourself a deal, Mister”
The federal government’s spending in 1980 is nowhere close to where it is now. In the early 80’s, total government spending was less than 1 trillion dollars a year. The budget didn’t grow to 1-plus trillion until 1986 or 1987. Plus, federal outlays didn’t even climb to 3 trillion until 2009 and have now reached nearly 7 trillion a year, not to mention that the deficits caused by that huge amount of spending are much greater now than they were in the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. In fact, we had a surplus in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. So, respectfully, inflation is not caused by supply bottlenecks or “corporate greed” but by the federal government’s voracious spending habits which has been encouraged by a very accommodative FED. Just look at the money supply now (which is a result of all the QE) as compared to the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s.
You guys are on the wrong site
The “govt. spends too much” theory resulted in no meaningful inflation for decades but MAGICALLY it all caught up to us during a global pandemic followed by a war in Europe which impacted both the price and availability of raw materials? That’s what you are going with…?
“So, respectfully, inflation is not caused by supply bottlenecks or “corporate greed”
So, supply chain bottlenecks which raise the costs of production does not increase the price of goods? That is what you are going with…?
So, price gouging does not raise the price of goods? I mean, it’s self evidently obvious that that is not true, but…that is what you are going with…?
Yes, supply issues due to COVID helped to cause inflation to (finally) impact consumer prices, as did other things related to the pandemic like the government goosing demand for goods by sending people free money at a time when supply was contracting. I 100% agree with you there. But my point is that this pervasive high level of inflation has not been sustained because of COVID or price gauging. This inflation, in my view, has been largely caused by the FED’s reckless monetary policy which was necessitated (in large part) by the federal government’s need for low rates to service the exploding deficit and a constant, unending supply of dollars which has, again, greatly expanded the money supply.
And, further, notice how the administration pivoted. First, this supposed “transitory” inflation was caused by supply-chain issues, but when that excuse wore thin, they changed their line to “corporate greed”. And the FED too was, at best incompetent or, at worse, downright deceitful in ignoring the true cause of this inflation problem and basically sitting on their hands for a long time as it got worse and worse and more embedded. Indeed, as we sit here now, they have barely shrunk their balance sheet despite vowing to do so (i.e. selling the bonds they own from QE to take money out of supply).
But, in any event, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Thanks for the talk. Always fun…at least for us. Ha! All the best and stay safe.
A) They botched the “transitory” messaging, no doubt…but notice that the underlying drivers they believed to be transitory are still here (with Ukraine on top). They got the causes right, but not the timeline.
B) Multiple execs have been caught on tape during earnings calls with investors and/or shareholders bragging about how they have used inflation as cover to raise their prices for no reason.
C) We can (I think) agree that Jerome Powell is awful.
“Demand destruction” doesn’t get more computer chips to the Ford plant.
I understand it’s the only tool he has but raising interest rates don’t un**** the supply chain or increase the labor supply.
If someone wants to criticize the current POTUS for something, it should be keeping terrible holdovers from the previous administration (like Powell, DeJoy, etc.) in order to appear stable and bipartisan.
Take care.
It has nothing to do with the pandemic, and everything to do with many countries’ gross overreaction to the pandemic.
Makes one wonder why Union agreed to this, gives all power to Goodell.
Because they are run by a bunch of guys that got hit in the head way too much.
Whats the point of having an independent decision if Goodell and his ego will do what he wants in the end. This a bad move for the NFL to drag along further. For all Watson did wrong he was not charged like Kraft was!!! Move on Goodell
Because then he can pretend to be progressive rather than a racist and sexist autocrat.
I think he’s just elitist.
He’s turned off by Watson slumming it with massage therapists.
Go to a private auction and buy a young lady from the 3rd world, like he and his fancy cat friends.
Come on Deshaun, what’s wrong with you? Embarrassing Big Rog like that.
So, Goodell is a sexist for appealing a decision by a female judge to punish a player who harassed female masseuses? Or is Goodell a sexist for allowing a female arbitrator to rule on the suspension instead of a male arbitrator? Do you mind explaining that?
Goodell is sexist for the whole dog and pony show of appointing a woman who made a decision that he didn’t like so he’s gonna undermine her and just suspend Deshaun himself when he could’ve done it to begin with not pander to women by appointing Sue
So if Sue had suspended Watson for a year and appealed the length of the suspension, which both the NFL and Players Association agreed to in the last CBA, would the PA also be sexist?
Blame the union who pushed hard and touted a win with the independent arbitration system setup but in the fine print Goodell still holds all the power. What did they think was gonna be the end result? This is the 1st case to use this and the NFL already is setting the precedent that was the way of the world before. NFLPA will sue and lose like before due to the CBA
Unfortunately I have to agree with you. How the union didn’t insist on a roster of transgressions and their consequences explicitly spelled out as well as independent arbiters with final say handling discipline cases is beyond me.
Because they are represented by idiots.
Yes, the NFLPA agreed to this situation so they can just deal with it.
bringing in Sue was more of a self-check of the league
so they know the holes in their own system
regardless Goodell was going to handle this how he wanted
No it wasn’t. If it was a self check she wouldn’t have made a public release.
So what you’re saying is that Goodell used this woman?
Suspension should have been 10 games minimum. 6 was a joke
If it doesn’t bleed into next year it’s a joke. Max $1.035 mil lost for 2022. I hope for a lost appeal that takes all season
My guess is the league appeals and gives him a full season suspension. The union will threaten going to court. The NFL will say fine. He can play until the court case is heard, which will be next year. In the mean time, a deal will be struck for 10-12 games because Watson doesn’t want to have this go into next year when the big money hits his deal
The judge made the right call based on the Player Conduct Policy.
Na. The judge followed the rules.
Non violent sex misconduct with ‘out call’ massage therapists. Not saying its right but I’m damn sure that job comes with training on how to decline happy ending requests. Pls seriously – he is creep but let’s move on.
That is why it is sexual assault. Why doesn’t every woman who is raped just say no. Stupid ass comment.
So after it all went in front of a judge, jury, lawyers, cops the whole deal. Two courts said there was no charges to be had on him. Look No one knows what happened behind closed doors and I’m sure the man is a creep but calling him a rapist is a stretch furthermore after it was reviewed by NFL again. It was called non violent – so did he really forcefully rape anyone? Unlikely at best. Did he show his junk and try have the therapist tug on it. Likely. But let’s just move on. These women getting paid now.
I absolutely get that you and many, many others feel that Deshaun Watson should pay DEARLY for his transgressions. I’m with you on that. But what guidelines in the CBA explicitly say what his transgressions are and what the consequences are???? It would be so much simpler to discipline him but instead everything here, from Robinson’s decision that he violated the Personal Conduct Policy to her discipline she handed out, to the suspension the league would have preferred, is completely arbitrary. That CANNOT be the way any of us want any justice system to work.
This is the NFL’s justice system that the players agreed to. If they have sour grapes about it now, tough. This is what the idiots agreed to.
One game for every accuser – 66 games total.
66 accusers? Did you sign up for it?
I really hope this drags out and he’s not suspended until next season. Then we’ll see how much that hurts Deshaun’s wallet when all that guaranteed money increases.
Nothing stopping Cleveland from reworking his deal in the offseason. They can move $ to other years or convert to future signing bonus.
Unfortunately that is a very good point. The Cleveland browns seem determined to reward DeShaun Watson for being a sexual predator. So I could see them doing this
Black men need to be convicted to be labelled a predator. It’s 2022 not, 1922.
How many burner accounts do you have on here Brownsbacker???
It’s 2022, not 1922. Men don’t need to be convicted to be labeled.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein would like a word with you.
Dead and convicted. Lol
Just like Manfred letting the Trashtros keep their plastic trophy. How does it feel to root for a team with an asterisk next to their name?
I think the NFL will step in and disallow that if happened.
And fine the crap out of Haslam.
Haha. For signing a guy that was never arrested? I expect the Texans to be fined and lose draft picks
Other than the cap hits….
Browns organization is so dumb
Another Deshaun Watson story with “More to come”…no pun intended I’m sure…
The never ending saga! So the NFL & NFLPA couldn’t come to an agreement. Then asked the judge for a ruling & the league doesn’t like the ruling, so they’ll make their own ruling now? Do I have that correct? And if they suspend him longer, Watson plans to sue the league?
Yes. You have it correct. What a mess the NFL is a joke right now.
You actually don’t have it correct. The former judge actually agreed on all accounts that he violated the personal conduct policy. The league differed on the length of her punishment.
It’s like someone being convicted of murder, but given the lightest sentence possible.
If the NFLPA doesn’t like that the league can appeal the length of the punishment, they’ve only got themselves to blame for it. They agreed to it in the CBA.
Thank you & I’m not surprised I have it wrong.
The league and the union are responsible for this. With clear definitions of what transgressions are as well as their consequences, decided upon by an independent arbiter with final say, it would be over. I’m no lawyer so I don’t understand how those well-educated and well-paid lawyers on each side didn’t see this coming.
You really thought anyone in their right mind could foresee a star QB of an NFL franchise would find 20+ massage therapists over a couple months that he hoped would provide him a happy ending and exposed and tried to coerce to provide said happy ending???
I mean if he really was looking for some sexual gratification, I’m sure he could have found any number of female admirers that would have been more than willing to have a consensual interaction with him.
As soon as you create a list, some knucklehead is going to go and do something crazy that no one would have ever thought would need to be added to the list.
Our legal system has many laws with wording that describes what constitutes what an offense is. Just by describing that, say, one aspect of sexual assault is coercing another person, either physically or emotionally, into performing a sex act, then the nature of the debate turns to whether there was evidence that Watson had done that, which may be hard to prove, but at least the transgression is defined and isn’t arbitrary, dependent upon each person’s viewpoint. Descriptions can be kept as general as possible to try to incorporate as many instances as possible.
Of course the league did
Sue Robinson’s job is adjudicate based on precedent and sentencing guidelines, not to protect the image of the league.
THAT is Goodell’s job.
And that’s why Jacoby Brissett will be the starting QB of the Rape City Browns this year.
She based it on precedent. That’s why she came up with 6 games. She said he did it, which we knew he exposed himself and touched the women, but she looked at the punishment from 2015 on and said that basically you can’t change the punishment that had been dished out without giving warning. It’s in her report
Must be why I said…
Sue Robinson’s job is adjudicate based on precedent and sentencing guidelines, not to protect the image of the league.
THAT is Goodell’s job.
And that’s why Jacoby Brissett will be the starting QB of the Rape City Browns this year.
he didn’t seem to have any issues dishing it out without warning, so he shouldn’t be afforded any either
There’s no precedent for a case like this. Any previous case involved either just one woman or multiple incidents with one woman. There’s no previous precedent with a player involved in sexual predatory behavior with multiple women.
The judge found that Watson was guilty of all the personal conduct policy issues brought before her, she just failed in setting precedent so that no other player thinks twice that this behavior is acceptable in the future.
There is no precedent for exposing yourself or forcing a woman to touch your penis or sexually assaulting a woman. The judge failed mightily most likely because she’s a stupid Democrat who thinks black men should be given a break when they commit heinous crimes.
Or other reason$.
There is precedent for rape. 4 games
If Goodell wanted to protect the image of the league he’d resign.
Let him play. Stop the nonsense.
Someone check on brownsbacker. He’s convinced Watson is an angel who would never do anything wrong and the 30+ women were all lying.
No he’s admitted finally that it happened. But unwanted touching and exposing yourself is “not that bad.”
Probably out on a ledge somewhere clutching one of Watson’s towels and wondering why his hands are so sticky.
Sorry about your Steelers being lousy for years. Trubisky isn’t looking too good. Haha
Apparently you never read any of my posts that said he should be suspended. I thought 8 games was sufficient considering that Jones, Snyder and Kraft got nothing. Granted, what Watson did was worse but what everyone or their team did was also a crime. If the NFLPA sues, it’ll be on the basis of this fact. So since it’s gonna be in Federal Court, the PA will subpoena all that the league knows about Kraft, Snyder and Jones. That’ll be public. The NFL won’t be able to keep it house
Nice whataboutism. You must not have a wife or any daughters.
I’m a Browns fan with 4 daughters and a wife, all of whom I love, and I wasn’t happy about my team getting Watson because of his transgressions. However, as we have seen again and again, the nature of player discipline in the NFL, with no set rules on what anything is except that the commissioner has final say, is by definition, completely arbitrary. As much as I may want Watson to be suspended for YEARS (and I do), none of us should support a disciplinary system that is completely arbitrary. That’s not fair and it’s not right. I believe that’s the point that Brownsbacker was making. He clearly reveals he’s not a sycophantic fan willing to overlook anything his team and it’s players do. Your accusation is unfair to him/her and serves only to inflame.
Lots of people lie on here. I’ve always said Watson deserves a suspension and people say that I defend him. I think he’s a perv. I think he’s a decent guy with a sexual perversion. I don’t believe he’s forced anyone and I believe he stopped when they said to stop. A guy with a sexual perversion and lots of money is a bad combination. My biggest problem is that the league does nothing to the owners who are part of a non violent sexual assault. I think the punishment to Ross today was just Goodell trying to set up a defense when the NFLPA uses the defense about owners getting off easy.
You do defend him. You have all along.
I defend that he shouldn’t receive a full year. I’ve never once said what he did was ok. He never forced or threatened or beat up any woman. There were 10 of the 24 women that met him again. That’s not defending him, but more an indictment on the women. Why would you continue to massage a guy that you were offended by?
B.S. Over and over you’ve said you have no problem with him.
Wrong. I’ve always said he deserves a suspension. Always. He’s not a rapist. Not even close. That’s my defense. If he were, he’d gotten in trouble in college. He’s just a rich young pervert
Since he’s such and angel and you obviously know his sexual history since you must have been his roomie in college, we should just set your mom up to be his new massage therapist with the Browns. I mean what’s the worst that could happen??? He’s just a rich young pervert right???
I don’t think he deserves a full year suspension but if Goodell did than he should’ve just suspended Watson himself.
“I’ve always said Watson deserves a suspension and people say that I defend him.”
You literally called him a “modern day Jesus Christ” in one of these comment thread. I remembered it because it seemed like obvious satire, but here you are, still going at it. You are a clown, dude.
This is the system they voted for. Who cares if you like it? The players apparently liked it otherwise they wouldn’t have approved it.
My accusation stands. I don’t care if it hurts your feelings or his.
But the Code of Conduct says that the NFL will hold owners to a higher standard. Kraft, Snyder and Jones weren’t. It has to be equal justice. You just don’t give out punishment at your whim.
The NFL can do whatever it wants. It is not up to you do decide for them.
You didn’t hurt my feelings. Your inability to listen and discuss this topic rationally and with consideration does disappoint me.
Well considering the NFL and NFLPA both agreed in the CBA that these types of transgressions and possible suspensions would go to a 3rd party arbitrator, that by definition means any of the discipline handed out is then arbitrary. If the NFLPA didn’t like that and didn’t like that the NFL could appeal the arbitrators punishment, then they shouldn’t have agreed to that being the process.
If it’s not fair or right, the players association shouldn’t have agreed to it.
Your wrong. The PA can’t subpoena that information. It’s called irrelevance. Has no baring on this case
Actually, it may have bearing on this case. If the commissioner, who has final say on player and owner discipline, isn’t disciplining each in the same manner, the union MAY have a case for unequal treatment. Admittedly, that’s speculation on my part.
Of course it has bearing jonny boy. What do you think Robinson based her decision on? Punishment for others with non violent sexual offenses. Kraft. Snyder. Jones. We’ll see if Goodell is ready to air out the NFL’S dirty deeds in public. The PA will do everything it can to see that it happens. It should be out in public
You need to stop comparing Watson to Big Ben et al. Nobody has made the argument that their punishments were just. They ALL should’ve gotten more. The NFL needs to do better so why not start here
Because as Robinson said in her decision, you can’t just start handing out stricter punishment without an announcement or referendum. As far as Roethlisberger goes, I’ve never called for any punishment for him. I’ve never done it for anyone. It has no effect on me what they get. What I do have issues with are the Steeler fans and Raven fans and Bengal fans who all have or had guys who were accused of rape, physical assault and even murder.
She doesn’t run the NFL, The NFL can do whatever it wants. There is no precedent for what Watson did. What other players have or haven’t done has no bearing on what Watson did. We’re talking about WATSON, not those other people.
What he did was absolutely wrong. He deserves a harsh punishment, and the judge that ruled gave him a joke of a penalty. Only six games and NO fine? Really? Even though she found that he did actually do what he was accused of and he even lied.
The NFL is very right to suspend him for AT LEAST a year. Then hand down some punishment on the Browns for structuring his contract to try to get around this.
Of course it has everything to do with what others have received. Have you ever heard of sentencing parameters? The NFLPA is definitely going to use the owners cases as a parameter. She was a judge for 30 years so she knows more than you do. Goodell can do what he wants but expect this to get very ugly for the league. Let me ask you a question….what do you actually think Watson did? He exposed himself and touched women. He didn’t use force or violence. It was wrong but he never was accused of rape.
There are no parameters for what he’s done, so it is up the the NFL to set the standard. I don’t care how many years she was whatever she was, she can be biased, she can be wrong, and she was wrong in this case. Don’t assume she knows more than I do, you have no idea who I am, what I do for a living, or what my qualifications are compared to her. I can safely say that her IQ is not as high as mine and probably doesn’t know as much as I do in general. She might know more about her particular area of expertise, at least I would hope she does. I bet she knows absolutely nothing about what I do and my area of expertise.
Watson sexually assaulted women. He didn’t use force? How do you know? Force isn’t just physical. He attempted to bribe them with more money I am sure.
It doesn’t matter what I think he was accused of and I am not going to play this stupid whataboutism game you want to try to enter into. It doesn’t matter what that judge thinks. The NFL is following the policy, they can appeal, Roger has final say.
Watson is a scumbag, he has a problem, and he should not be on a football field representing the NFL or a team. He’s lost that privilege. It is time for the NFL to actually take a stand.
I assume you’re no 30 year Federal Judge. In fact I bet you know nothing about the judicial system. She’s a Judge, so she rules on on that. How do you think she based her punishment? By looking at other suspensions since 2015. This was a non violent sexual assault. Her words.
Non violent does not mean not forced! Force is literally in the definition of sexual assault.
Force would mean that he restrained them. Exposing himself is sexual assault. Like I said before, the sheer numbers make this an issue for Watson but if this were a single case or two, it would be nothing. He has a problem. He is a pervert but I guarantee you that this has happened to everyone of these women before in another session with another man. They’re all wrong but only Watson is rich
Definition of sexual assault
: illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent (as because of age or physical or mental incapacity) or who places the assailant (such as a doctor) in a position of trust or authority.
link to merriam-webster.com
Go argue with the dictionary about what sexual assault means.
Maybe in your twisted mind the only way you can force a woman to do anything is by restraining them.
“it would be nothing.”
There you go. That’s all you need to know about this joker. What if that was your mother that was one of the one or two? You think that’d be nothing?
You guarantee, huh? Are you their pimp or something? How do you know?
I used to think Watson was the biggest scumbag, but he’s got some close competition with you coming along.
He lied. Also her words.
I don’t care how many years she’s done whatever she’s done. People can be influence and can be wrong.
I think she based her decision on outside pressure and influence$. You can’t look at past suspensions for what he’s done because nobody else has done this before.
Roethlisberger was accused of actual rape. Twice. I’d say 2 rapes Trump 24 molestations. Funny how I worked the word Trump into a multiple sexual assault allegation topic
You have a pretty sick and twisted moral compass. Both 2 rapes and 24 molestations deserve a minimum 1 year suspension.
Good grief. What is wrong with you would even try to discount the 20+ women’s lives he’s permanently affected???
Yeah, he’s made them wealthier. I guarantee you that this has happened to them before. I know a lady that does legitimate massages and she said people asking for happy endings happen all the time. This was before the Watson thing. We met at a competition. She was a competitive fitness trainer
How ironic. I also know a lady that does legitimate massages and she said people never ask her for happy endings ever. This was also before the Watson thing. Crazy enough we also met at a competition and she was also a competitive fitness trainer.
See how easy it is to make crap up???
Yeah. You’re name. I highly doubt you’re a maddog. Story is not made up but I guarantee that most outcall massage therapists have had something similar happen to them. Doesn’t make it right, but I highly doubt these women were traumatized by seeing a guy’s junk.
Instead of checking on him, I muted him. And now it says that 36 of the 180 comments on this thread are hidden.
It’s a bit disturbing that anyone would spend that much energy trying to justify and enable the type of behavior that Watson engaged in.
Three dozen different times in this thread alone.
I can’t wait for all of those Clowns fans’ tears when the season long suspension is handed down.
Why? What do you care?
They will still finish ahead of the Steelers. Guaranteed. Steelers will be one of the bottom 4 teams in the AFC
I can honestly see why Cleveland Brown fans will see this as an actual goal since The Cleveland Browns are 6-33-1 against the Steelers between August 3, 2002 and August 3, 2022.
You guys like to keep bringing up history but why don’t you bring up the fact that your quarterback during that time was an accused RAPIST? You don’t like that part of history?
You do realize the irony that Haslem was a minority owner for the Steelers during this time.
I guess now we know why he’s fine with dropping nearly a quarter billion for a sexual predator. He saw the Steelers get a ring during Big Ben’s allegations.
According to some on here, with Roethlisberger paying her, those allegations turned into an admission of guilt
There was going to be an appeal regardless of what the ruling was because each side was far apart in terms of reaching a settlement. Goodell will attempt to save face but a hard push could easily backfire. Does he want to re-open the Kraft can of worms and his other soft disciplinary rulings? Does he want to act so heavy handed that the arbitration process ends up being viewed as a farce?
Kraft participated in soliciting a hand job. A misdemeanor and involving two consenting adults. Watson sexually assaulted at least 22 women. Why would anyone compare the 2?
Kraft was charged. Watson wasn’t. Kraft was on video and you forgot to turn in the video you have of Watson
The video against Kraft was illegally obtained and therefore not allowed to be evidence.
24 games and a castration. That’s all it’ll take for the public to accept the punishment. A lifetime ban and a castration would also do it. Either way, castration has to be on the table.
Yeah…I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Physical or chemical?
abilkhayr@gmail.com
I was really hoping the NFL would honor the spirit of the process they negotiated with the players, and let the arbitration process stand.
They are. They are following the process. They have last say.
They actually don’t. If Watson gets a much larger suspension, it’s going to the Federal Court who will have the final say. Don’t be stupid and think that the NFLPA will just accept it
Dude give it a rest. The problem is, the Player’s Association would have no leg to stand on. They agreed to the CBA which allows the league to have full control. And while Judge Robinson bashed the league for how they write and apply rules, she also said they’re a private organization and can do as they please. Feel free to drag out a legal process and we can continue to talk about off field issues at browns camp.
Biggest apologist for a serial abuser I’ve ever seen. I wonder if this guy is Ben Crump or whatever that idiot attorney’s name is.
Alvin the chipmunk
The difference is the other times players went to Federal Court, there was no precedent set on the punishment. Jones, Kraft and Snyder were all involved in non violent sexual cases and received no punishment and they want to suspend Watson for a year? The Code of Conduct states that owners will be held to a higher standard. Apparently the NFL broke their own rules. Do you ever stop and think why 2 Grand Juries and a Federal Judge either didn’t indict or levied a less severe punishment? Certainly you’re not stupid
You can put the whole he’s innocent didn’t do anything wrong think you rest now after judge Robinson report. Again it’s a corporation. For example, I can get fired for behavior outside of work even if I don’t break the law. It’s the same concept. The NFLPA is a union. A unions job is to work with a corporation on collective bargaining rights. If a union feels a corporation has violated its CBA, that would be subject to legal action. I just don’t see how the NFL is going outside of the CBA here but not the type of law I practice.
You do realize that every other player that has taken the league to federal court has still ended up serving the suspension handed down by the league.
Brady did the following year. Watson may play the whole year and I don’t care about the fact he’ll lose more money next year. If they fined him all of last years salary, I could care less. This is only about football to me
FINALLY!!! Thanks for confirming to everyone Brownsbacker that all you care about is your football team winning and you don’t care that the face of your franchise is a disgusting sexual predator. We can also assume that your fine with any of your star players committing non violent sexual acts against women, just as long as your team wins.
If you’ve paid attention to his arguments, Brownsbacker9 has CONSISTENTLY stated that Watson should be suspended and that the amount of the suspension should be in line with others who have been suspended; this is fair since the NFL’s personal conduct policy is not explicit in what the repercussions are for violating it. Stop trying to minimize Brownsbacker’s scope of the points he’s putting forth. Of course he cares about how it affects his favorite football team. This IS a site catering to football fans, isn’t it??? I doubt you’re on it as a way for satisfying your insatiable need for legal discussion.
Shut up Brownsbacker alt account.
Oh I’ve paid attention his delusional ramblings and excuses. It still doesn’t change the fact that the face of the franchise was signed to a fully guaranteed contract and is a sexual predator.
Unfortunately the tired excuse that his punishment should be in line with others who have been suspended ignores the fact that no one else has sexually preyed upon 20+ women trying to do their job which Watson hired them for. Watson tried to use his fame and power to intimidate these women. This is one of those cases that a precedent needs to be set to make sure nothing like this happens again.
A star NFL player shouldn’t have to have it explicitly spelled out in the personal conduct policy that if you sexually assault over 20 women that you will possibly be suspended for a year or more. Do you literally need to have the NFL legal department to go through every illegal act on the books and spell out what a potential punishment would be if they engage in those acts? The league and players association have a hard enough time agreeing on the CBA as it is.
Roger has final say. I am sorry you don’t like that. Your boy is getting a HUGE suspension AND fine. He should never play football again, but idiots like you drool all over him and will watch these criminals play with a ball all day long.
If Two grand juries did not indict the embattled QB what is the nfl going on about ? The guy was basically suspended last year so let if go nfl ..
Words of advice to Watson-Go wherever Kraft goes for his massages
Watson chose to sit out and not play for the Texans prior to the allegations coming out last year.
federal grand juries indict 99.99 percent of the time , So Twice now he hasn’t been indicted , That has to stand for something? Idk to me it sounds like a money Grab and it looks like they all got some money. All the women I know have said if something wrong sexual happened to them they wouldn’t want money they would want jail time but it’s looking like they are all taking the mola
Nice. Victim blaming at its best. Do you also think OJ didn’t murder his wife???
Browns better have a trade offer ready for Jimmy G
Wonder if BB9 remembers saying the most DW would get is 6 games and that would be final and I said that may be what the arbitrator leveled and the NFL would appeal and Goodell had the appeal so that would not be final?
I believe the trailer park boys said it best and… ITowdaso.
I said 8. He may get nothing this year because I guarantee you if Goodell raises it more than 8, the NFLPA will take it to Federal Court and it’ll be drawn out for a year like Brady’s was. I hope Watson plays the whole year and his suspension starts next year. Looking like that’ll be the outcome
And that he’d appeal it down to 6 and that would be the number.
I’m what way is the NFL raising the suspension outside of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the union and NFL? That’s your only hope at legal action in court. The union will need to prove the NFL is working outside of the CBA.
The CBA Code of Conduct states that owners will be held to a higher standard. Sounds like they violated the CBA. Why do you think Goodell gave Ross and the Dolphins such a steep punishment? So he can say that he punishes owners harshly. You can’t put the cat back in the bag. Jones, Snyder and Kraft got nothing. I’m not saying that what they did was as bad as what Watson did, but they received NO PUNISHMENT. Even Robinson based her decision on that. She was a Federal Court Judge and this will be heard by a Federal Court Judge.
She didn’t want to set a new standard. The NFL as a private entity can. Snyder stepped down from day to day operations and a ten million fine. The NFLPA should have addressed the owners punishments and decisions at the time for Kraft. Saying he should have received a larger punishment based on the CBA verbiage. However the Kraft incident was prior to the new CBA not sure if that had an effect.
That’s all she had to base her opinion on. The new CBA didn’t mention anything about how much punishment one would receive. I’m not arguing that Watson doesn’t deserve a suspension because he does.
She was hired by both the NFL and NFLPA. She could set any standard She wanted to. I think Goodell hiring an outside guy to hear the appeal says a lot.
149 comments already, wow. This is probably a lot of dog and pony, but it will be interesting to see if he ends up out the entire year.
PFR should get rid of the trolls – you know, the people who only attack other comments.
The PFR staff do a great job but anyone can simply create a new username. The best defense against a troll is to ignore them. They’ll go elsewhere if they can’t get any attention here.