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Deshaun Watson will only have to sit out six games this upcoming season as punishment for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The league was hoping Watson would be suspended for the entire 2022-23 season.
The suspension has a littany of inconsistencies based on the number of games he'll miss and how Judge Sue L. Robinson described his actions.
It also makes it hard not to think about a similar issue on a much smaller scale that took place back in 2010, when Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four games for similar off-field misconduct.
Watson had 24 accusers with the same profile. Each accuser was a masseuse who was not employed by the Houston Texans at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct.
When Roethlisberger faced a six-game suspension 12 years ago, he got it moved down to four with an assist from the NFLPA. Roethlisberger was the first player suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell under the conduct policy who hadn’t been arrested or charged with a crime. So far, Watson hasn't either.
From the sound of it, the side that will push for an amendment to Robinson's decision will be the NFL. Over the last decade, the #Timesup and #MeToo movements have changed the way many sexual assault cases are judged. Also, given the sheer number of accusers, it's shocking the cookie is crumbling in this manner so far.
Deshaun Watson has 12 times the number of accusers Ben Roethlisberger had
It's practically impossible to compare these types of situations. The suspension doled out to Deshaun Watson just feels off given Ben Roethlisberger's ban 12 years ago.
ESPN's Jake Trotter explained how Robinson arrived at the decision. Trotter pointed out that Watson's conduct 'does not fall into the category of violent conduct that would require the minimum 6-game suspension' which was established by the NFL as 'by far the most commonly-imposed discipline for domestic or gendered violence and sexual acts.'"
It appears that the bigger the star, the more lenient the punishment is. Roethlisberger being suspended for four games potentially set the stage for a lenient punishment for Deshaun Watson.
Even if it doesn't, and the suspension remains six games, will there ever be an explanation from Roger Goodell on why there was a much harder stance on weed and gambling than sexual violence?
It doesn't appear so.
