Deshaun Watson trade: Breaking down every angle of the blockbuster
By Khari Demos
Deshaun Watson trade: Legal Angle
Although Watson was cleared of criminal charges in his defense against sexual assault and harassment allegations by 22 women, there are still civil suits that need to be resolved on this matter.
No, Watson will not face jail time, but he should be expected to be punished by the NFL. The league is still doing its own investigation on the matter, plus Watson will have a tough time avoiding the NFL’s new personal conduct policy, despite swerving the Commissioner’s exempt list over the past year.
Here is the NFL’s policy as to what could happen following its investigation on the matter:
"An individual is subject to discipline under the policy if the person is determined to be guilty of a criminal charge or if the NFL investigation demonstrates the person engaged in conduct prohibited by the policy. Depending on the nature of the violation and the person’s record, discipline may be a fine, suspension, community service, or a combination of the three. Violations involving assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault will result in a baseline six-game suspension without pay, with more if aggravating factors are present, such as the use of a weapon or a crime against a child. A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL."
So who knows what the league may find with this ongoing investigation. Many believe that even though Watson proved to be exonerated criminally, the nature of these allegations with misconduct against massage therapists will most likely end with some form of suspension for Watson.
Six games is traditionally the benchmark for allegations of this nature, but will he get more? Less? We must wait and see.
Next up on our list, is the money angle.