ATLANTA -- “It is not enough to simply avoid being found guilty of a crime. We are held to a higher standard and must conduct ourselves in a way that is responsible, promotes the values of the NFL, and is lawful. Players convicted of a crime or subject to a disposition of a criminal proceeding (as defined in this Policy) are subject to discipline. But even if the conduct does not result in a criminal conviction, players found to have engaged in any of the following conduct will be subject to discipline. Prohibited conduct includes but is not limited to the following…assault and/or battery, including sexual assault or other sex offenses…and conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel.”
The above language was taken from the NFL’s 2018 Personal Conduct Policy. It was the most recent version I could find. I spent longer than I care to admit trying to find the 2022 Policy but, alas, no luck. It is possible that the above language has changed in four years, but I am reasonably confident that it has not, as the language is the same in the 2014 and 2016 policies.
You know where I’m going with this. Deshaun Watson. Three-time NFL Pro Bowler.
During the last season that he played, he led the NFL in passing yards, was second in passer rating and yards per game, and was seventh in touchdowns. Some argued that his performance that season was the best that we have seen from a QB in more than a decade.
Deshaun Watson who, after sitting out the entire 2021 season, landed in Cleveland after signing a $230 million fully guaranteed contract — the highest guaranteed deal in NFL history. The Browns paid a king’s ransom. They gave the Texans their next three first-round picks, two third-round picks, and two fourth-round picks. They had to; Watson is one of the best players in the league.
“The Browns are going to the Super Bowl!” That was the text I received verbatim from my friend who has had season tickets since the ‘90s. The Browns haven’t had a QB as good as Watson in … well … ever. And with all that offensive talent the Browns still have, expectations would understandably be high.
Many Browns fans were elated at the news of Watson’s signing. When I heard the news, I was a bit ambivalent about it. On the one hand, I was happy for Browns fans. They love their team, win or lose. And mostly, the Browns lose. Still, hope springs eternal amongst Browns fans. And I love that about them. Browns fans are loyal and optimistic.
But on the other hand, there was a number that I couldn’t get out of my head. Twenty-two. That was — at that time — the number of civil lawsuits filed against Watson accusing him of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Twenty-two different women. Twenty-two different stories. But many of them possessed a common theme: That Watson — an unbelievably wealthy professional athlete who has access to some of the best trained massage therapists in the world — requested a massage via Instagram, and then engaged in sexually predatory behavior during the massage.
Twenty-two. That’s a small number if you are counting money or the number of friends you have on Facebook. You hope to do better. But 22 is not a small number if you are counting the number of people who are accusing you of something bad, like lying, cheating, or stealing.
One or two people are enough for some to avoid you. Three to five people are enough for most to avoid you. If more than five people would call you a liar, cheater, or a thief, I think that just about everyone would deal with you like you are a liar, a cheat, or a thief.
But I know, this is different, right? We are talking about Deshaun Watson, one of the best players of America’s most popular sport. He can get any woman he wants. He doesn’t need to go around sexually assaulting women.
You’re right. Watson doesn’t need to sexually assault women. But when is “need” ever offered as a justification for sexual assault? It’s not like stealing money. No one needs to sexually assault anyone. But it happens anyways. And we have seen rich and powerful men “need” to engage in sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein. Bill Cosby. R. Kelly. Kevin Spacey. Matt Lauer.
But not Deshaun Watson. He’s one of the good guys. He donated his first game check to stadium cafeteria workers in Houston who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. He also helped furnish 176 homes through Habitat for Humanity.
Yes, Watson has done good things. But as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us .…” Watson is still human. And like all of us humans, he too wrestles with demons.
I understand why the Browns signed Watson despite the allegations. The mega-deal was inked literally a week after he was cleared of criminal charges by a Harris County, Texas, grand jury. (A second grand jury in Brazoria County, Texas, later also declined to indict Watson.) That left just the civil allegations and the NFL investigation. The lawyers can figure that part out. And once Watson plays and we win games, no one will care anymore.
If that was the calculus, that wasn’t bad math. Despite Watson’s proclamations of innocence, he will likely settle the civil cases. Any lawyer will tell you that nine out of 10 civil cases do. And there’s not much to fear from an NFL investigation. It’s akin to a police department investigating one of its own. How many times does the hammer really drop in that scenario?
But as we learn more about Watson’s behavior, it will be harder to justify Watson’s signing exclusively as a football decision. Last week, The New York Times reported on its own investigation into Watson’s behavior. They introduced a new number that will be hard for me to forget. Sixty-six. That is the number of women the Times found who met Watson for a massage over a 17-month period. Did the Browns know any of this? If not, why didn’t they?
Watson said publicly that he had hired about 40 different therapists over his five years in Houston. His math was way off. Sixty-six women. In just 17 months. That is almost four different women per month. Were none of them worth sticking with? Even if nothing happened during the massage sessions, a professional athlete using 66 different therapists in approximately a year and a half is … eyebrow-raising, to say the least.
A professional athlete, who has access to world-class facilities and massage therapists paid for by his employer, spent his free time searching Instagram for massage therapists. He searched without any regard to that therapist’s experience, or skill, or training. “It wasn’t a priority,” he said. He also ended up frequenting a spa in a strip mall for massages.
Since the NFL investigation began, two more women have filed suit. What would it say about the values of the NFL if it read all 24 of the complaints filed against Watson, interviewed those 24 women, reviewed the deposition transcripts thus far, reviewed the Times’ investigation records, interviewed the additional women the Times found, interviewed Deshaun Watson, reviewed their own Policy and then decided to issue a fine or ban Watson for half a season? What should NFL fans, particularly women who love the NFL, conclude from such a scenario?
“We are held to a higher standard … Prohibited conduct includes … sexual assault … and conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel ….”
The integrity of the NFL is at risk here. In my mind, what little integrity it has left after what has been and is being done to Colin Kaepernick — who was accused of assaulting nothing, other than some people’s feelings, by the way. If the NFL has any remaining values whatsoever, it must suspend Deshaun Watson, and do so for a considerable amount of time.
I’m not saying that I know what happened. I can’t. I wasn’t there. The only people who do are Watson and those 66 women that we know about. But what I can say is that 24 of those women stand on one side, accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct. On the other side is Watson, saying that they are all liars.
You can tell me that you believe Watson all you want, but answer me this: If your sister, daughter, or niece came to you tonight and told you that Deshaun Watson messaged her about a massage, would you want her to go? I’m thinking that you wouldn’t.
And if she went, and came back and told you that something happened, would you believe her? I’m thinking that you would.
Eric Foster, a community member of the editorial board, is a columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Foster is a lawyer in private practice. The views expressed are his own.
To reach Eric Foster: ericfosterpd@gmail.com
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