08-02-2022, 12:57 PM
Ruling on Deshaun Watson was Never Going to be Satisfying
https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/browns-maven-features/unsatisfying-deshaun-watson-ruling
The only guarantee with a resolution to Deshaun Watson's investigation by the NFL is it would be unsatisfying, dispiriting. Coming up with an adequate punishment for a series of charges with little proof was an impossible needle to thread, but the league was once again exposed for how ill equipped they are to deal with violence and mistreatment of women, despite countless opportunities to form a policy. Sports leagues are never going to be an effective substitute for the criminal justice system and even though they are operating based on the preponderance of evidence as opposed to innocent until proven guilty, it was a system fraught with problems before Watson getting to the NFL was a consideration...
...Vague guidelines allow the league to protect its owners while being able to punish players inconsistently and often more harshly. In this case, it came back to haunt them. The same rules that enabled them to avoid any meaningful punishment for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, caught on camera soliciting prostitution in Florida, allowed Robinson to default to the same punishment for Watson as Ben Roethlisberger and Ezekiel Elliott despite 24 women accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct.
The NFL has allowed Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder to operate almost with impunity despite accusations that have been piling up for a decade which includes sexual assault. Until the league is willing to put pen to paper on a real policy that outlines punishments for both players and owners, they will continue to get what they view as unsatisfying results in cases like Watson.
https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/browns-maven-features/unsatisfying-deshaun-watson-ruling
The only guarantee with a resolution to Deshaun Watson's investigation by the NFL is it would be unsatisfying, dispiriting. Coming up with an adequate punishment for a series of charges with little proof was an impossible needle to thread, but the league was once again exposed for how ill equipped they are to deal with violence and mistreatment of women, despite countless opportunities to form a policy. Sports leagues are never going to be an effective substitute for the criminal justice system and even though they are operating based on the preponderance of evidence as opposed to innocent until proven guilty, it was a system fraught with problems before Watson getting to the NFL was a consideration...
...Vague guidelines allow the league to protect its owners while being able to punish players inconsistently and often more harshly. In this case, it came back to haunt them. The same rules that enabled them to avoid any meaningful punishment for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, caught on camera soliciting prostitution in Florida, allowed Robinson to default to the same punishment for Watson as Ben Roethlisberger and Ezekiel Elliott despite 24 women accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct.
The NFL has allowed Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder to operate almost with impunity despite accusations that have been piling up for a decade which includes sexual assault. Until the league is willing to put pen to paper on a real policy that outlines punishments for both players and owners, they will continue to get what they view as unsatisfying results in cases like Watson.
