So, here's something to consider. The NFL conducted its investigation...and passed their findings on to Judge Sue...or did they??
There have been 25 civil complaints filed; there were I believe only 24 which had been filed at the time of the investigation. Of these 24, 12 refused to talk to the NFL or in some way could not be contacted. Now, first of all what up with that? You say this man sexually violated you, traumatized you to the point you needed therapy, a career change, couldn't sleep at night, etc and you don't have a problem putting your name down in a lawsuit where you might have to testify and will almost certainly get paid $$$ , but you DON'T want to talk to the NFL, who you know full well is trying to punish to the fullest to the best of their ability the man you say sexually violated you, but there is no chance of any $$$ for you. This is your chance to strike back at the son of a bitch that violated you - and you only have to talk privately to an NFL investigator not face the accused in open court - and you take a pass? This case was ALL about numbers. Everyone says Deshaun's guilty because of how many women there were - but when it comes down to talking with investigators instead of talking to Buzbee now half of them don't have anything to say or cannot be found. Further, of the 12 they NFL DID contact, the NFL themselves didn't feel that the information they garnered in SEVEN of those cases to be I guess you'd say "helpful" to the cause of getting Deshaun indefinitely suspended. Does that mean the NFL didn't deem there was sufficient evidence in these 7 cases? Did it mean they found glaring contradictions of the assertions being made in those cases? Are there written recommendations on a case by case/woman by woman basis by the NFL investigator(s) submitted to their higher-ups/Goddell about which cases/women should be forwarded to Judge Sue and which ones should not? If the NFL is sued by the NFLPA and Deshaun Watson, would ALL of this information (not about the four cases that made it to Sue's desk, but ALL the ones that DIDN'T make it to Sue's desk and WHY they didn't make it to Sue's desk) be subpoenaed by the NFLPA? It seems to me highly suspect that Judge Sue can make the sweeping "indictments" she made about Deshaun - which, in fairness, may be totally on the money - WITHOUT considering the entire picture, which is what is up with the OTHER 20 accusers and why is the NFL withholding what they learned about them from their forwarded findings to Judge Sue? If 20 people filed civil suits claiming Deshaun was guilty of sexual impropriety and the NFL discovered many of these didn't have enough merit to be sent to the judge, shouldn't the judge and public be made of aware of those fine particulars? The judge mentioned "mitigating factors" in her report - she couldn't mention as a mitigating factor that the NFL didn't find enough merit in 20 other women's claims because the NFL didn't forward to her any information about their investigations into those 20 other women. If we had the whole entire picture, people - including the judge herself - might be feeling differently. Maybe. But we DON'T.