Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org.
Since the Texans traded Deshaun Watson to the Browns in March, the quarterback’s legal woes have continued to worsen.
More civil lawsuits have been filed since that day, totaling 24 active cases detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurred during massage therapy sessions. The accounts range from Watson allegedly refusing to cover his genitals to the quarterback “touching [a plaintiff] with his penis and trying to force her to perform oral sex on him.” The latest detailed that Watson masturbated and ejaculated on the plaintiff without her consent. And it’s expected that more could be on the horizon.
As more legal troubles surface, a question began to surface around the NFL—could the Browns reverse the trade for Watson? Houston general manager Nick Caserio brushed off the possibility in an interview on SportsRadio 610.
“Any trade—forget about this particular one—any trade that takes place, so there’s a process that you have to go through,” Caserio said. “Teams agree on that and then once you agree on that, it gets submitted to the league. The transaction gets processed and it goes on file with the league. Unless there’s somebody that’s gonna go in there, you know, overnight in a mask and try to get on a computer, and may have a cyberattack like that, I’m not sure anything that can be done there.
“No different than a draft day trade. Even though it kind of happens more in real time. You have an agreement in place, O.K., you contact the league. Or we have a trade, we have an agreement, send the paperwork along, and everybody goes on their merry way. Unless I’m missing something, or unless [you] call [Roger] Goodell and ask him for interpretation and opinion, I would say that whatever trades have happened have happened in the past, and now we’re just focused on training camp and moving forward with the team.”
Watson also faced potential criminal cases stemming from the allegations. The Harris County grand jury returned nine “no” decisions on nine criminal complaints against Watson. A Harris County prosecutor said that the decision concluded criminal proceedings against him in that county, and Watson was traded shortly afterward. Then, a grand jury in Brazoria County declined to charge Watson on a 10th count on March 24.
Cleveland traded for Watson shortly after the first grand jury proceeding concluded and signed him to a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. A clause was built into the contract where Watson would lose only $55,556 for every game he’s suspended this season.
He has continued to deny the allegations against him.
It is still unknown whether Watson will face any punishiment this season as the league’s investigation continues. But according to ProFootballTalk, the players association is preparing for an “unprecedented” punishment recommendation for the Browns quarterback. If an unpaid suspension is enacted under the personal conduct policy, ProFootballTalk reports that the NFLPA will “mobilize with an aggressive defense on Watson’s behalf.”
This reportedly includes comparisons to how the NFL has handled the cases of three prominent team owners—the Commanders’ Daniel Snyder, Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Cowboys’ Jerry Jones.
