Why was Deshaun Watson’s suspension so light?

The NFL was expected to deliver a hammer blow to Deshaun Watson, to nail their colors to the mast and make a bold statement. And they did. Unfortunately the statement that they made, and their message can not be confused in any way, is that they are willing to turn a blind eye to sexual misconduct as long as the money is right.

Don’t misunderstand me here, I am all for the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” and defend the right of anyone to maintain their career intact until such time as they are proven to have forfeited it. But this is a case where the punishment for non-criminal, internal behavior guideline violations, are so wildly dispersed as to be a nonsense.

The NFL has been delivering mixed messages now for years, and particularly in this case, where the league publicly announced that they would move ahead with a suspension that was in line with the damage done to the public image of the league.

Sean Payton was suspended for a year, a YEAR, for sending an email that contained the phrase “make sure our ducks are in a row”.

Calvin Ridley was suspended for 17 games, effectively a whole season, for placing a bet, a legal act mind you, on a football game.

Tom Brady got a four game suspension for deflating footballs in cold weather.

Deshaun Watson behaved sexually inappropriately with 30 women over a period of months. Mark this well, there is no denial that the allegations took place. Watson only denies that those actions rise to the level of sexual assault.

Judge Sue Robinson disagrees, saying, “I find that the NFL has carried its burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Watson engaged in sexual assault (as defined by the NFL) against the four therapists.” She notes the “egregious” nature of Watson’t behavior and his “lack of expressed remorse”, but states that since the NFL was a private company and that he had provided financial restitution, no police should be involved.

Let that sink in for a minute. The judge is saying that Deshaun Watson did what he was accused of. But since he paid his victims, he shouldn’t go to jail.

In baseball, Trevor Bauer was handed a two year ban for a sexual assault that was investigated by the police and found to contain no criminal conduct and where his accuser was found to be “materially untruthful”. You can’t escape the comparison, even though the MLB and NFL are two separate organizations. And in this case the NFL is sorely lacking in moral rectitude.

There is a slight chance that Roger Goodell could make good. He doesn’t need to abide by the judge’s recommendation for a minimum suspension. As NFL commissioner, he could apply any further punishment he sees fit. But he won’t. And it is no secret as to why he won’t. It will be the same reason that the judge doesn’t want police involved. Because Deshaun Watson equals money.

If you want to argue that non-criminal acts should have no punishment, then we have to reinstate, and more importantly repay all of the money that was forfeit, every single one of the above-mentioned suspensions, plus many hundreds more. But if we are to go down the road of applying punishment based on an internal set of behavior codes, then Deshaun Watson should have a suspension measured in seasons, not games.

Unless the NFL goes to these types of lengths, then I am afraid that it will have been revealed to be a toothless joke of an organization. And there is nothing worse than a paper tiger.