NEW YORK (UNITED STATES), Aug. 4 (dpa/EP) –
The National Football League (NFL) formally appealed the six-game suspension that a judge independent of the league and the players’ association imposed on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, accused of sexual misconduct, seeking a longest penalty.
The NFL is seeking a tougher sanction for Watson, who faced 24 separate civil lawsuits filed by female massage therapists alleging sexual misconduct between 2020 and 2021 during her time with the Houston Texans.
“The NFL has notified the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) that it will appeal Judge Sue L. Robinson’s disciplinary decision and filed its brief this afternoon,” the league announced in a statement Wednesday, assuring that the Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine who will hear the appeal.
Judge Robinson, the designated disciplinary officer on the case and a former US federal judge, confirmed in Monday’s ruling that the NFL was seeking to have Watson suspended for the entire 2022 season, but said a longer suspension would be inconsistent with past punishments meted out to players who violated NFL rules.
“Although I found that Watson violated the policy, I did so using the NFL’s post-hoc definitions of the prohibited conduct in question,” Robinson wrote. “It is inherently unfair to identify conduct as prohibited only after it has been committed, just as it is inherently unfair to change the sanctions for such conduct after the fact,” she argued.
Robinson noted in the ruling that he found Watson’s behavior “appalling and remorseless,” and said harsher punishment would be justifiable if it had been outlined in the personal conduct policy.
“While it may be entirely appropriate to more harshly discipline players for nonviolent sexual conduct, I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so without noting the extraordinary change this position heralds for the NFL and its players,” he wrote.
The Texans banned Watson from all of his 2021 games during a criminal investigation into the allegations, though they paid him his full salary. A jury finally dropped all criminal charges in March, and Watson’s attorneys have since resolved all but one of the 24 civil cases.
Houston traded the three-time Pro Bowler to Cleveland in March, and the Browns quickly signed Watson to a five-year, $230 million extension that is fully guaranteed.
According to the Associated Press, the NFL also asked Watson to receive a minimum fine of $5 million. Robinson issued no additional financial penalties beyond the $345,000 in salary that Watson will lose over the course of the suspension.
The NFLPA, the professional players’ association, announced before Robinson’s ruling that it would abide by the decision regardless of the outcome.