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A slow Saturday on the NFL calendar has risen considerably.
With the NFL knowing that coverage of all things Deshaun Watson is inevitable, the league directed the appearance of reports to a window where they could be noticed less.
And here we are. At 18:05 ET, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Andrew Beaton containing this very remarkable nugget. The league “is pushing for an indefinite suspension lasting no less than a year for Watson.”
Watson and the NFL Players Association, which has a duty to defend Watson and all members of the union, under federal law, will fight. As reported by PFT, one of the tasks they will adopt is to argue that the proposed punishment does not match the discipline or lack thereof for several homeowners who have allegedly violated the personal conduct policy. Beaton’s article confirms this specific report.
By pushing for an indefinite suspension, the league would be protected from the possibility of more women applying to Watson between now and mid-March 2023, when all relevant two-year statute of limitations will expire, assuming Watson ceases. the practice of insuring oneself. private massages through social media after the first lawsuit was filed in March 2021.
The league case, according to Beaton, will focus on five of the women who have sued Watson. These cases have corroboration of text messages and other evidence. “League officials believe these particular allegations are objectively demonstrable and set a clear and disturbing pattern of Watson’s behavior,” Beaton writes.
Several reports have set the start of the hearing before Judge Sue L. Robinson for Tuesday, June 28th. It is unclear how long the process will take. An NFLPA effort to defend Watson based on the actions and consequences of homeowners like Daniel Snyder, Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones will necessarily delay the process. However, Watson has the absolute right to argue that his punishment should be proportionate to other cases.
Along the way, the NFLPA could uncover some evidence that would be of particular interest to the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is trying to gain full access to the investigation conducted by attorney Beth Wilkinson on the commanders and owner Daniel Snyder. It is impossible to know whether Snyder’s punishment fits correctly into misconduct without knowing the full extent of the misconduct.