Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 8-5-22

Sports
Deshaun Watson's Camp 'Displeased' With Suspension Ruling, Believe In 0 Games
Representatives for Cleve- land Browns quarterback De- shaun Watson are "displeased" with Monday's announcement of a six-game suspension levied by former judge Sue Robinson and be- lieve there should be no sus- pension, per Josina Anderson of CBS Sports.
The NFL sought an indefi- nite suspension of no shorter than one year, according to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal.
The 26-year-old was ac- cused of sexual assault or sex- ual misconduct by at least 25 women who filed civil law- suits against him. He settled all but one of the lawsuits, in- cluding three Monday, per ESPN's John Barr.
In March, two grand juries declined to file criminal charges against Watson.
Despite the lack of criminal charges, the NFL has the au- thority to suspend players
DESHAUN WATSON
under the personal conduct policy. As Albert Breer of MMQB noted, both Ben Roethlisberger and Ezekiel Elliott were suspended six games without criminal charges.
Roethlisberger was ac- cused of sexual assault in 2010, while Elliott was ac- cused of domestic violence in 2016.
The NFL Players Associa- tion released a statement Sun- day saying it would accept Robinson's ruling and not appeal the decision.
Watson's team previously considered a lawsuit against the league in federal court if it handed down a full-year sus- pension, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. The disagreement with the six-game suspension could still mean further action from a legal perspective.
Even with the suspension, Watson loses just $333,333 in salary for the 2022 season, per ESPN's Field Yates. The quarterback will still receive his full $44.965 million sign- ing bonus as part of the $230 million guaranteed deal he signed with the Browns this offseason, via Spotrac.
Watson was also paid his full 2021 salary with the Houston Texans despite sit- ting out the full season.
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