Watson Suspended for 11 Games and Fined $5 Million / and a bit OT and back.

[Westside Steve]

26 minutes ago, hoorta said:

Read the article Steve. If the person hearing the appeal gives the NFL exactly what they've wanted all along, it's see you in Court.  I would hope that there would be some room for compromise, like a couple extra games and a  $5 million fine. 

Could be anything.

I want 17 games and Garoppolo.

On the other hand I want a lot of s*** that I probably won't ever have. 😄

WSS

[nickers]

You can all thank Jimmy "Ass Hat" Haslam for this... He's the one who wanted Watson...

[nickers]

7 hours ago, laiccm said:

So the league has bowed to the media crying last 2 days. If I'm the Union...GAME ON...I'm playing Watson game 1. I wish the same media members had the same energy for Kraft(WHO HAD A VIDEO), Snyder, Jerry Jones, Texans FO....

I wouldn't play Watson game 1... My strategy would be to sit out the 6 games... I'd rather have Watson available in the latter half of the season.. Assuming we make the playoffs...

[Vambo]

1 hour ago, hoorta said:

Read the article Steve. If the person hearing the appeal gives the NFL exactly what they've wanted all along, it's see you in Court.  I would hope that there would be some room for compromise, like a couple extra games and a  $5 million fine. 

Roger Goodell won’t hear the NFL’s appeal of Deshaun Watson’s six-game suspension, report says

• Updated: Aug. 04, 2022, 2:06 p.m.|
• Published: Aug. 04, 2022, 1:59 p.m.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2022/08/roger-goodell-wont-hear-the-nfls-appeal-of-deshaun-watsons-six-game-suspension-reports-says.html

...

Apparently, Goodell has decided to appoint someone else to hear one of the most controversial and highest-profile appeals in the history of the NFL.

 

 

Florio speculated that perhaps Goodell might appoint Mary Jo White, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, or Condoleezza Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State and current director of the Hoover Institute at Stanford who recently became part of the Denver Broncos ownership group.

 

 

A lifelong Browns fan, Rice recently weighed on Watson’s situation...

[TexasAg1969]

1 hour ago, Westside Steve said:

Could be anything.

I want 17 games and Garoppolo.

On the other hand I want a lot of s*** that I probably won't ever have. 😄

WSS

Yeah, I wanted that drop dead beauty I had a conversation with on the Metro in Barcelona too. And I had the perfect pitch about how poor my Spanish was and then proceeded to use it for 10 minutes. But................I had to watch her leave alone anyway.🥲💃    Maybe I should have asked if she did massages.😁    LOL!

[jcam222]

2 hours ago, Osiris said:

It's still possible that Watson and the NFL reach an agreement before anything goes to court, what you've posted certainly gives the NFL motivation to do so. From what I heard on a podcast, the NFL's minimum was 12 games + fines and Watson's maximum was 8 games. Maybe they just split the difference and agree to 10 games + a smaller fine than what the NFL wanted.

Sadly, the CBA allowed for the NFL (and the NFLPA) to appeal the ruling made by the independent judge. The NFLPA tried to make it so NFL could make the initial ruling but any appeal would go to the independent judge (as it is in MLB) but they wouldn't agree to that.

I feel like the "happy medium" is for the NFL to add a fine that the two sides can agree  to on top of the 6 games. This should please the majority of the folks who thought the penalty was not enough. We have to understand that a certain number of the folks are simply never going to be happy regardless of the severity of the penalty short of a lifetime ban and that's not happening. I honestly was surprised Sue Robinson offered no fine and truly wonder if that was back channel discussion with the league to give them a fine as an out. 

[SdBacker80]

“there were NO clear definitions that the NFL went by in making their determinations of Watson's misbehavior... OTOH, they made it up on the fly.”Quoting Hoorta,

this is a MASSIVE problem for the NFL.    If/when this goes to Court this will get picked apart.  The dictator decides.  Yeah okay. 

[SdBacker80]

18 minutes ago, jcam222 said:

I feel like the "happy medium" is for the NFL to add a fine that the two sides can agree  to on top of the 6 games. This should please the majority of the folks who thought the penalty was not enough. We have to understand that a certain number of the folks are simply never going to be happy regardless of the severity of the penalty short of a lifetime ban and that's not happening. I honestly was surprised Sue Robinson offered no fine and truly wonder if that was back channel discussion with the league to give them a fine as an out. 

This is exactly how I feel.  
 

I keep going back to the numbers… and ironically the supporters of a longer suspension do too.

you hear 66 therapist…24 or 26 cases….the masses are just eating these numbers up and seeing a monster.  “Well 24 women rounded up by an ambulance chaser don’t lie”

But the grand jury heard half of those…why?  NFL heard 5…no only 4…why?   
 

And The NFL needs a lawyer to draft their personal conduct policy.  It is sloppy as all hell and may do them in when they go to court 

[Korsou Dawg]

3 hours ago, hoorta said:

Read the article Steve. If the person hearing the appeal gives the NFL exactly what they've wanted all along, it's see you in Court.  I would hope that there would be some room for compromise, like a couple extra games and a  $5 million fine. 

The policy to be upheld leaves room for a higher fine. It does not leave any room for a longer suspension. 6 games plus more money it will likely be, and the NFL looking even more foolish. 

If the imposed ruling were not to be in accordance with the policy, Watson's legal team has an open and shut case in court. They have the legal equivalent of a gun to the NFL's temple.

[onkyoreceiver]

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.

 

[DieHardBrownsFan1]

2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Maybe I should have asked if she did massages

Did she offer you a senior discount?🤣

[TexasAg1969]

2 hours ago, DieHardBrownsFan1 said:

Did she offer you a senior discount?🤣

Ida paid triple that rate. She was that good looking and humorously engaged in conversation about her hometown with this old fart. I think she brought out my best Spanish for sure.😍

[Dutch Oven]

6 hours ago, hoorta said:

We know what happened.  Media pressure from some commentators and outraged women's groups that the punishment was insufficient, and the socially conscious NFL couldn't fold fast enough. Ban the scumbag for life!!! Don't try and tell me that the NFL doesn't bend over backwards trying to engage women who might be vaguely interested in football. The pink Critical Catch thing is just one example.  

Absolutely ridiculous.

Literally the only pocket of people who are outraged that he's going to get a much longer suspension is Browns fans. 

Geez, I wonder why? 

The Browns deserve every bit of the never-ending shit circus they brought to town ON THEMSELVES. They are not victims, they sold their souls, and they'll deal with the consequences. 

[Unsympathetic]

NJ past AG appointed to hear the case

[SdBacker80]

7 minutes ago, Unsympathetic said:

NJ past AG appointed to hear the case

Well Goddell is smart.  
 

He’s known the optics from Day 1
 

when the suspension is increased it was handed down by a member of the NFL's diversity advisory committee. 

[gumby73]

32 minutes ago, SdBacker80 said:

Well Goddell is smart.   

😇 Nah,nah, No! that had to be a typo  

start over   

(the business of the nfl shield has a unlimited cap space.. paying smarter people than God_ _ _ _ )  

[TexasAg1969]

8 hours ago, hoorta said:

The pink Critical Catch thing is just one example.  

There was a pink clitoral catch? How'd I miss that?😛

[jcam222]

On 8/3/2022 at 1:36 PM, hoorta said:

Too bad The Gipper isn't around anymore to comment... Robinson had to use the NFL's version of what "violence" is, not the legal version of one. You can read the report of what was considered "violence", I'm not going to repeat it here. However, for it to be "indecent exposure" it has to be in public, but I'm not a lawyer.    Yeah, it wasn't just a "massage" it was thinly veiled prostitution. But how many other NFL players have visited The Chicken Ranch or it's equivalent multiple times in the past?

And this reeks of nth degree hypocrisy Mr. Kraft.. You got off scot free... 

 

The guys lifestyle with the most skeletons in the closet usually do jump on the bandwagon to deflect. 

[Canton Dawg]

2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Ida paid triple that rate. She was that good looking and humorously engaged in conversation about her hometown with this old fart. I think she brought out my best Spanish for sure.😍

You should’ve brought out the French! 😉

[SdBacker80]

5 hours ago, onkyoreceiver said:

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.

 

^^^^On the Money 

[SdBacker80]

1 hour ago, gumby73 said:

😇 Nah,nah, No! that had to be a typo  

start over   

(the business of the nfl shield has a unlimited cap space.. paying smarter people than God_ _ _ _ )  

It is not him I spelled his name wrong 

[hoorta]

7 hours ago, jcam222 said:

I feel like the "happy medium" is for the NFL to add a fine that the two sides can agree  to on top of the 6 games. This should please the majority of the folks who thought the penalty was not enough. We have to understand that a certain number of the folks are simply never going to be happy regardless of the severity of the penalty short of a lifetime ban and that's not happening. I honestly was surprised Sue Robinson offered no fine and truly wonder if that was back channel discussion with the league to give them a fine as an out. 

onkyo rarely posts but damn, he did one deep dive there wading through the bullshit.  In the light of that, (assuming it's accurate) the NFL's case is mighty weak. I'll expect it to get torn apart should it ever go to Federal Court. Besides the difficulty of finding "credible" witnesses, (which BTW the Texas Grand Jury found their credibility lacking)  I pointed out Watson TOLD these women what areas of his body he wanted massaged, yet they agreed to it beforehand. Also told them he was an NFL player with big $$$.   

I'll opine FWIW, if you're not under oath, you can make up any kind of shit you can dream up to get a big payday. Yeah, I've heard some of their sleaze stories... I'm beginning to wonder if Busbee coached them on what to say- to fatten their purses- and his wallet. 

[hoorta]

5 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

Absolutely ridiculous.

Literally the only pocket of people who are outraged that he's going to get a much longer suspension is Browns fans. 

Geez, I wonder why? 

The Browns deserve every bit of the never-ending shit circus they brought to town ON THEMSELVES. They are not victims, they sold their souls, and they'll deal with the consequences. 

Regarding your BOLD... The fans had absolutely no say in who the owner is, or had any part in the decision to bring Deshaun and his mountain of baggage into Cleveland... So just stop saying the FANS should suffer because Management decided the humongous risk of bad PR was worth the potential reward in the long run. You'd totally have to have your head up your ass if you somehow think had Watson signed with a different team, said team wouldn't have been equally reamed out in every media outlet you care to name. 

Nah, Dutch... It is what it is... As a season ticket holder should DW get hit with a season ban, it probably won't affect how I'm viewing this season, I'll hope for the best, and a lot of luck. 

Sure, the majority of opinion outside of the Cleveland market says a longer suspension is warranted, but it's hardly a unanimous POV. The NFL fans of either gender outside of Cleveland are just superficially looking at the numbers, 60+, um 24, um now one?  Get out the rope and hang the guy. Onkyo pointed out the NFL only found a handful of offended parties (was it 4 or something like that)?  when they brought their case to the arbitrator. I said it elsewhere- you can spew any kind of fairy tale crap - within in reason-any political figures come to mind- you listening Alex Jones?- in the media you want to- (the sleazier the better) but say the same stuff under oath with perjury hanging over your head? Different story.  The Texas Grand Juries- with Watson not being able to defend himself against the accusations (in two different counties) said there was nothing criminal going on. 

Yeah Dutch- Watson is a sleaze, and not very smart either in regards to getting sexual jollies. But it looks like the Court of Public Opinion has already tried him and found him guilty. Legally... Not so much.  Stay tuned.   

 

[Vambo]

Roger Goodell appoints Peter C. Harvey to hear NFL appeal of Deshaun Watson’s 6-game suspension

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-designates-former-n-j-attorney-general-peter-c-ha

"Mr. Harvey served as the Attorney General of New Jersey and is now a partner at the Paterson Belknap firm in New York," the league said Thursday in a statement. "He has also served as a federal prosecutor. He has deep expertise in criminal law, including domestic violence and sexual assault, and has advised the NFL and other professional leagues on the development and implementation of workplace policies, including the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy. Mr. Harvey has also served as the Commissioner's designee in other arbitrations."

Harvey served as the New Jersey attorney general from 2003-2006.

[Vambo]

NFL was warned about Deshaun Watson's suspension length in June, giving league month to consider taking control of outcome

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-was-warned-about-deshaun-watsons-suspension-length-in-june-giving-league-month-to-consider-taking-control-of-outcome-030239593.html

...

Arbitrator's early signal shaped Watson-NFL settlement talks

Robinson putting the NFL on notice during the hearings brings some clarity to what followed in the Watson case in July. It explains why media leaks began almost instantly that Watson would get a lesser punishment than the league was pushing for. It also explains why Watson’s camp and the union were emboldened to take a hard line in settlement talks, which ultimately ended with the NFL suggesting a 12-game suspension and a fine that would have accounted for a significant portion of the $10.5 million Watson earned with the Houston Texans in 2021. To some engaged in the talks, it felt like the NFL was trying to turn Watson’s final season with the Texans (in which he never took the field) into a retroactive suspension. It was something the NFL could later point to and say, “Look, he lost most of what he made in 2021 and never took the field. So he was basically suspended. Now he’s suspended another 12 games on top of that.”...

 

[Vambo]

11 hours ago, nickers said:

I wouldn't play Watson game 1... My strategy would be to sit out the 6 games... I'd rather have Watson available in the latter half of the season.. Assuming we make the playoffs...

Browns plan to play Deshaun Watson in preseason, but he won’t play the first six weeks of regular season

Posted by Mike Florio on August 4, 2022, 7:47 PM EDT

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/08/04/browns-plan-to-play-deshaun-watson-in-preseason-but-he-wont-play-the-first-six-weeks-of-regular-season/

 

 

[TexasAg1969]

9 hours ago, Canton Dawg said:

You should’ve brought out the French! 😉

Hmmm. I better ask Nero how the Spanish feel about the French before I give that a try. Ironically I was once stopped in Paris by a couple looking for the location of a hostel I had just seen down another street. I guess because of my Texas suntan and dark brown hair they asked me in Spanish. Funny to be mistaken for a Spaniard in the middle of Paris.😁 But they were happy I could tell them where it was.🤗

[Korsou Dawg]

11 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

Absolutely ridiculous.

Literally the only pocket of people who are outraged that he's going to get a much longer suspension is Browns fans. 

Geez, I wonder why? 

The Browns deserve every bit of the never-ending shit circus they brought to town ON THEMSELVES. They are not victims, they sold their souls, and they'll deal with the consequences. 

The appeal leading to a longer suspension is your assumption, and a questionable one at best. 

[Westside Steve]

12 hours ago, Dutch Oven said:

Absolutely ridiculous.

Literally the only pocket of people who are outraged that he's going to get a much longer suspension is Browns fans. 

Geez, I wonder why? 

The Browns deserve every bit of the never-ending shit circus they brought to town ON THEMSELVES. They are not victims, they sold their souls, and they'll deal with the consequences. 

I agree with you Dutchman. And let's keep it honest: how loudly would we all be laughing if it were the Pittsburgh Steelers that made this exact same deal and were sitting in the same spot we are in right now?

WSS

[FY56]

7 hours ago, hoorta said:

Regarding your BOLD... The fans had absolutely no say in who the owner is, or had any part in the decision to bring Deshaun and his mountain of baggage into Cleveland..

 

Read it again. That was never said or even implied.