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RockRam
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To say that would be a bad look for the NFL if he were to be allowed to play would be an understatement. Although, admittedly, in this world I'm no longer sure what people think is off limits and what isn't.
I'm obviously not in a position to discuss the details of this case (because I don't know them), but here's what I see from 40,000 feet...
Multiple allegations of sexual assault/misconduct are made against a wealthy famous person. Fine.
All of the accusers retain civil representation prior to going to police to report crimes. This is also fine (at least to me).
But this is where things go off the track for me.
Despite taking well over a year to investigate the matter, prosecutors decide to go Grand Jury instead of filing criminal charges based upon the evidence gathered by police. I don't believe that this happens in most cases of this type and I suspect the prosecutors may have realized that there were major hurdles to proving even some of the misdemeanor allegations.
And it appears as though their apparent concerns were realized when the GJ refused to indict after testimony from several accusers (who were likely their best witnesses). To me, the fact that Watson may have invoked the 5th says a lot about the strength of the case. It's as if he said,
There are two sides to every story. Just listen to theirs, without any cross-examination, and decide for yourself. I'll stay quiet.Again, I'm not saying I know what happened here, but it appears as though even the accusers understood that the civil arena was the best place to address their grievance.
Moving on, I would expect the NFL to suspend Watson for a length of time, but no more than 6 games. I say this because this was the length of time they suspended Big Ben
after his 2nd rape allegation in two years. And, of course, that 6-game suspension was ultimately reduced to 4 games upon appeal. If I'm not mistaken, both situations resulted in settled civil matters. Steeler fan didn't care about this and I don't believe the fans of Watson's future team will either.
And don't get me started on the Robert Kraft situation.
I get it that it's 2022 and the "Me Too" movement is more prominent today (rightfully so). But the NFL has learned to be more adept at handling these situations (and so too the players) - especially as they relate to civil matters.
Unless Watson is traded to, say...The Commanders (who appear to have systemic issues under Snyder), I don't foresee a major PR problem with him.
