Here's the reality of the situation — sure, Deshaun Watson has moved onto a new place of business, having landed in the soft pile of money, $230 million guaranteed, that the Cleveland Browns dropped on him, but the Texans DO own the Browns' next two first round draft picks, in 2023 and 2024. Thus, the more the Browns can lose, the better those picks become. Taking it one step further, the longer a Watson suspension, if it happens, lasts, the better the chance that the Browns lose more football games.
In short, what happens with Watson still matters to the Texans, and thus, should matter to Texan fans. So if you're one of those Texan fans that can meet in the middle and say "Fine, Sean, I'll listen to you discuss Deshaun Watson, IF the information is relevant to the Texans," then I implore you to read the next several hundred words.
Watson is meeting with the NFL's investigative arm this week here in Houston, presumably as part of their process to determine what, if any, punishment the Browns' quarterback (still feels weird to type "Browns quarterback, Deshaun Watson") should receive. Per Ed Werder of ESPN.com on Tuesday of this week:
Why is this important? Well, simply put, during an investigation into a disciplinary issue, the league typically interviews the subject of the investigation (in this case, Deshaun Watson) at the END of the process, so that he can respond to the assertions made by witnesses and/or accusers. In this case, Deshaun has LOTS of the latter, and practically none of the former.Source: The first direct meetings between the #NFL investigative team led by Lisa Friel and #Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson have begun in Texas. The league seeks to determine if he violated the NFL Personal Conduct Policy and, if so, whether discipline should be imposed.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) May 17, 2022
So it stands to reason to think that the NFL might be getting ready to hand down a decision on Watson, even though he is still entrenched in his position that he did nothing wrong, and he intends to fight all 22 of these civil lawsuits, a process that could take years since all 22 cases must be tried separately.
In tandem with the league continuing its own investigation, Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the 22 plaintiffs, continues to make life in the public relations realm a living hell for Watson. On Tuesday, Buzbee leaked some of Watson's testimony from a pre-trial deposition, and the information revealed is not a great look for Watson:
The testimony came in the case brought by Ashley Solis. She was the first therapist to go public with her claims.Buzbee doesn't do anything accidentally, and it's no coincidence that this testimony from Watson leaks on the very same week that the league is eating with Watson, and possibly wrapping up its investigation. None of us know what actually happened. It's Watson's word against that of 22 separate accusers. None of us know how believable or compelling the accusers are in their interviews with the league.
Watson claimed he didn’t know why she had cried. Solis claims that Watson intentionally touched her with his penis during the massage, prompting the reaction.
“Sorry about you feeling uncomfortable,” Watson texted. “Never were the intentions. Lmk if you want to work in the future. My apologies.”
Asked why he sent an apology, Watson testified: “Yes, because she was teary-eyed. And I was trying to figure out what was going on. So, I assumed that she was uncomfortable in whatever reason. And we talked about working in the future. And so, I said, `We can work in the future. Just let me know.’ And then I sent my apologies as whatever reason she was teary-eyed for.”
What we do know is that eventually the league is going to make some sort of ruling related to Watson, possibly very soon. If you're a Texans fan, the NFL's decision matters tremendously to you.
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
