Watson Suspended 11 Games and Fined $5 Million in Sexual Misconduct Case

Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns quarterback, will be suspended for 11 games and pay a record $5 million fine after the N. F. L. appealed what many thought was a lenient six-game suspension for accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual misconduct in massage appointments. The league announced Thursday that Watson must undergo evaluation by behavioral experts, followed by a treatment program. The fine, as well as an additional $1 million each from the league and the Browns, will be donated to groups that work to prevent sexual assault. The penalties were the result of a settlement between Watson’s representatives from his legal team and the players’ union, and the N. They are among the most severe in league history, and come as the league faces heightened scrutiny over its treatment of women and after backlash to the initial suspension handed down by an arbitrator earlier this month, which some said wasn’t harsh enough to be a deterrent and did not address the scope of accusations against Watson.“Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself that is necessary for his return to the N. L., ” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. In a statement released through the team Thursday, Watson said he was “grateful” that the disciplinary process had ended. “I apologize once again for any pain this situation has caused, ” he said. “I take accountability for the decisions I made. ”But when asked by a reporter why he accepted the suspension and fine after long insisting he had done nothing wrong, Watson said he was innocent of the claims against him.“I’ve always stood on my innocence and always said I’ve never assaulted anyone or disrespected anyone, and I’m continuing to stand on that, ” he said in a news conference after the settlement was reached. “But at the same time, I have to continue to push forward with my life and my career. ”The settlement was less than the indefinite suspension, with the chance to apply for reinstatement after a year, that the N. sought, but it nearly doubled the one initially imposed by a third-party disciplinary officer this month. Thursday’s decision ended one of the most high-profile tests of the league’s personal conduct policy, a case that involved a star quarterback in his prime who was accused of serially harassing and assaulting women but who was never charged with a crime. Watson reached settlements with 23 of 24 women who filed lawsuits against him. In the 18 months since the first allegations surfaced, Watson was traded by the Houston Texans for a bevy of draft picks to the Browns, who signed him to a $230 million fully guaranteed contract, prompting questions about whether teams were taking the accusations seriously. The settlement headed off a potential challenge of the discipline in federal court, a route the N. Players Association has taken, with mixed success, in other player suspensions thought too severe. All data is taken from the source: http://nytimes.com Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/sp... #watson #newsabc #newstodaylocal #bbcnewstoday #newstodaydonaldtrump #newsworldabc #