It has recently come to light that NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland
Browns has been accused of sexual misconduct from an upwards of 25 women. The women had
come forwards discussing the misconduct happened during massage appointments. However, I
am not here to discuss the ridiculous argument of “he said she said” which has already been
played… but 25 women all coming forward doesn’t sound like this type of situation.
I am here to talk about the complete money grab and publicity stunt the NFL is clearly
doing with their response to these accusations. Watson is to be suspended for 11 games and is
required to pay a $5 million fine along with behavior evaluations. With this fine Watson is losing
virtually no money and the game suspension (which is also causing him to lose very little
money) was planned out with an exact science. Watson had just been traded from the Texans
when the accusations began to come forward. Now being with the Browns, the game he is set to
play in after his suspension is against his old team – the Texans.
For obvious reasons this will be a big game in general with lots of fans watching it but it
will also have so much more attention on it because it is Watsons first game back. I don’t believe there is any other way to look at this situation than as a joke. Thousands of women come forward
with their stories and aren’t heard or are thrown to the side. The NFL is not only showing those
survivors but all survivors across the nation that when it comes down to it all they care about is
money. Football players get longer and harsher punishments for smoking weed than Watson did
for assaulting over two dozen women.
Think about this the next time you or someone close to you turns on a football game.