Former federal judge Sue L. Robinson has ruled Deshaun Watson should be suspended six games for violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The six-game suspension handed to Watson also included an unprecedented condition where he can only get massages from therapists on the Browns’ staff. That mandate from Judge Sue L. Robinson means that Watson can’t hire his own therapists, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Watson has denied the allegations, and his legal team argued that any sexual activity between him and the women was consensual. He settled 20 of the lawsuits in June and settled three more Monday.
In March, two grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal charges, with potential NFL discipline the final question mark over his return to the field. Watson may not have been suspended, but he did not play a single game in 2021 while with the Texans after an offseason that saw him file a trade request and then named as the subject of multiple lawsuits.
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The Texans traded Watson to the Browns this offseason following the confirmation he wouldn’t face charges, and the AFC North team signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal reported on June 25 that the NFL was eyeing an indefinite suspension of no less than one year.
“The league’s belief that it should institute what is essentially the strictest discipline it can assess is based on its investigation over the last year, the breadth of the allegations against him and some accusations that NFL officials have concluded are particularly damning,” Beaton wrote.
Roger Goodell and the league have three days to put out an appeal.
