The NFL appealed the six-game suspension of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on Wednesday, according to a league spokesman.
The league challenged the sanction issued Monday by an outside disciplinary official as a result of a hearing into allegations that Watson engaged in sexually coercive and lewd behavior toward two dozen women he hired to give massages. The NFL is seeking an indefinite suspension with the option of reinstatement after a year, according to a person with knowledge of the league’s appeal who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The league also recommended a fine and treatment for Watson and cited concerns about his lack of remorse in the brief it filed Wednesday, the person said.
The union, which declined to comment, has until close of business Friday to respond.
Following a process agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association, the appeal will be heard by Commissioner Roger Goodell or a person of his choice. The league did not immediately say who would oversee the appeal, which will be heard on an “expedited basis.”
There is no timetable set by the ABC for a decision.
Sue L. Robinson, the retired federal judge appointed jointly by the NFL and the players’ union to oversee the disciplinary hearing, found that Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy by having unwanted sexual contact with another person , endangering safety and well-being. be someone else’s and undermine the integrity of the NFL. She suggested in her 16-page report that Watson’s conduct, which she called “predatory” and “horrific,” could have merited a stricter penalty, but that it was limited by league policies and disciplinary history. previous
Watson has denied the allegations against him, and two Texas grand juries declined to indict him. He settled all but one of the 24 lawsuits filed against him by women he hired to give massages. Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said they would “continue to support” the quarterback they awarded a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in March.
Robinson said in his report that Watson’s denials did not appear credible and that he showed no remorse.
The players’ union said before Robinson’s decision it would not appeal, but after the suspension was announced Monday, the NFL said it would review its findings and “make a determination on next steps” within three working days that the CBA allows to challenge.
The six-game suspension was criticized by Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing most of Watson’s accusers, as well as sports law experts and advocates for sexual abuse victims. The league had argued to Robinson that Watson deserved at least a full year suspension while the union had fought for a lesser penalty.
Robinson said his decision to suspend Watson for six games was based on sanctions the league had applied in other cases of gender-based violence.
The league began its investigation into Watson in March 2021, when Ashley Solis, a licensed massage therapist in Houston, filed the first lawsuit against him. The women said he assaulted or harassed them during massage dates in 2020 and 2021, when Watson played for the Houston Texans. In a brief filed with Robinson, the league wrote that Watson had “used his status as an NFL player as a pretext to engage in a premeditated pattern of predatory behavior toward multiple women.”
Watson’s case was the first dealt with under a new process established in the 2020 CBA By assigning an arbitrator to oversee the review of the facts and decide on the initial penalty, the review was intended to curb criticism of excessive power and , at times, Goodell’s capriciousness in the disciplinary process.
Had Robinson found that Watson did not violate the personal conduct policy, there would have been no discipline and neither party would have been able to appeal. But he concluded there was enough evidence, including accounts from four women that he said were “substantially corroborated,” to support multiple policy violations by Watson.
According to the ABC, decisions by Goodell, or his designee, are “complete, final and complete” and binding on all parties, including the player.
The union can challenge the league’s appeal in federal court, as it has in the past for player conduct decisions. A notable example came in 2015, when quarterback Tom Brady challenged his four-game suspension in the so-called Deflategate scandal. A district court judge sided with Brady, saying Goodell exceeded his power in suspending the quarterback for his role in an alleged scheme to pump air out of game balls to improve their grip. Goodell’s decision, however, was upheld in 2016 by a federal appeals court that affirmed his broad authority to discipline players.
Michael LeRoy, an arbitrator who teaches labor law at the University of Illinois, said the CBA’s language made an “emphatic point” about the purpose of the process agreed to by both sides.
“I think it’s pretty much airtight against judicial overturning,” LeRoy said. “Courts are very deferential to findings of fact, as well as findings regarding a breach of contract or not. So I think Watson will only tilt at windmills if he challenges it in federal court.
Watson can continue to practice with the Browns during training camp while the appeal continues.