Today is the day when Deshaun Watson is making his way back to the field.
When he met with reporters on Thursday, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson refused to answer questions unrelated to football. He took some heat for that.
On Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com dropped a report that would bring him major heat when he reported that NFL and NFLPA experts believe Watson has shown “signs of progress” during mandatory treatment sessions.
“He’s been progressing well and he wants to continue with it, and they feel it’s helping him,” said an unnamed source “connected to” Watson’s treatment program. “It’s just sort of ongoing as needed and it’ll be ongoing until it’s not needed anymore. And I think it’s given him a lot of help and support. But this could take a while.”
Watson was suspended for 11 games due to his violation of the league’s misconduct policy “by committing sexual assault.
“Since I know most people aren’t going to actually read this article, I’ll point out there’s no description of what his program is, what he’s doing in the program, or one example of how he’s made progress. Also, the sourcing is vague,” tweeted Kalyn Kahler of The Athletic.
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When Watson takes the field at NRG Stadium, around 10 of the more than two dozen women who accused the Cleveland Browns quarterback of sexual misconduct will be in attendance and watching on. This is his first game in two years and it comes against his former team, the Houston Texans.
24 civil lawsuits were filed on behalf of women alleging Watson sexually harassed or assaulted them during private massage appointments and although he denied any wrongdoing, 23 of the lawsuits were settled confidentially. Two grand juries declined to charge Watson criminally.
A new civil suit was filed by another woman in October, alleging that Watson pressured her into sexual activity during a professional massage session. Despite the new lawsuit, the NFL said his status would remain “unchanged.”
