SI:AM | The Deshaun Watson Case Is Settled—but Not Over

Plus, the debate over Tua Tagovailoa’s abilities or lack thereof.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Let’s recap all the major developments in the Deshaun Watson case over the past year and a half.

In today’s SI:AM:

⚖️ Deshaun Watson’s nonapologetic settlement

🐬 Who believes in Tua?

👑 The impact of LeBron’s extension

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11 games for Deshaun Watson

Editors’ note: This newsletter 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

Five months after his trade to the Browns and 17 months after the first sexual assault lawsuit was filed against him, we finally know what Deshaun Watson’s punishment from the NFL will be: an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine.

Watson agreed to accept the discipline to avoid a potential yearlong suspension that the NFL was seeking after appealing the initial ruling that would have banned him for only six games. It’s a story that has unfolded over a year and a half, with so many twists and turns that it can be easy to forget how we got here. Sports Illustrated’s Madeline Coleman and Daniela Perez have compiled an exhaustive timeline dating back to when the first lawsuit was filed against Watson. Let’s review a few key dates:

• March 16, 2021: Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee says a lawsuit will be filed against Watson.
• March 17, 2021: The first suit from a massage therapist is filed, containing graphic accounts of Watson’s alleged actions, including that Watson “purposefully touched the Plaintiff’s hand” with the tip of his penis during a massage.
• March 29, 2021: By this time, 19 suits had been filed against Watson. SI published an account from a massage therapist, who has not filed a lawsuit, in which she described to reporter Jenny Vrentas how Watson developed an erection during a massage with her and began “thrusting the air.” She also expressed concern for how a trade of Watson to another franchise could threaten massage therapists in other cities.
  
  “The one thing I keep thinking about is, he’s about to get traded to another place,” the woman said. “What if he goes to Atlanta or California or anywhere else? He would have a whole new community of massage therapists to target.”
• Oct. 29, 2021: As trade rumors begin to pick up ahead of the Nov. 2 deadline, commissioner Roger Goodell says the league does not have sufficient evidence to place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list. Watson is not traded during the season and does not play a single snap.
• March 11, 2022: A grand jury in Harris County, Texas, declines to indict Watson on criminal charges. With the criminal proceedings against him concluded, teams reportedly rush to attempt to trade for Watson.
• March 18, 2022: Watson waives his no-trade clause and accepts a move to Cleveland. The Browns sign him to a record-setting five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract that includes just $1 million in salary for ’22, thereby limiting the amount of money he would lose from being suspended.
• March 29, 2022: Goodell says Watson will be suspended and/or fined, not placed on the exempt list.
• May 17, 2022: Watson admits in a pretrial deposition that one massage therapist cried during their session, USA Today reports. Watson says he did not know why she cried.
• June 7, 2022: The New York Times reports Watson booked massages with 66 therapists over a 17-month period and that the Texans “enabled” Watson’s massage habit.
• June 21, 2022: Watson settles 20 of the 24 suits against him.
• Aug. 1, 2022: The former federal judge chosen by the NFL and players union to hear the Watson case, Sue L. Robinson, rules that Watson should be suspended for six games during the ’22 season.
• Aug. 3, 2022: The NFL appeals Robinson’s ruling, reportedly seeking a suspension of at least one year in addition to a fine.
• Aug. 18, 2022: The league and its players union agree to a settlement that includes an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine.

This story is far from over, in large part because of Watson’s refusal to acknowledge he did anything wrong. Sure, he made a weak apology last week before starting the Browns’ first preseason game, telling a team-employed reporter, “I want to say that I’m truly sorry to all of the women that I have impacted in this situation.” But after the settlement yesterday, he was right back to proclaiming his innocence.

“I’ve always stood on my innocence and always said that I’ve never assaulted anyone or disrespected anyone and I will continue to stand on that,” Watson said during a press conference after the decision was announced. “But at the same time, I have to continue to push forward with my life and my career and, for us to be able to move forward, I have to be able to take steps and put pride to the side. I’m going to continue to stand on my innocence and keep pushing forward and I’ve always stood on not disrespecting or sexually assaulting anyone.”

It was a narrative that was pushed heavily by NFL insiders. ESPN’s Dianna Russini tweeted that people close to Watson maintain the settlement “isn’t an admission or an apology to the women involved.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport retweeted a mealymouthed, contradictory tweet from Watson’s agent in which he wrote that “Deshaun has always stated he is innocent of sexual assault” but “also said he is remorseful, the decisions he made have created this situation.” (The fact that the two most prominent NFL reporters are sharing Watson’s side of the story to their combined 13 million followers without context or comment is a topic for another day.)

The Browns have framed this as giving Watson a “second chance.” But, as SI’s Michael Rosenberg writes, Watson and the Browns aren’t acting like he did anything wrong in the first place:

“People deserve second chances,” Jimmy Haslam said. “I struggle a little bit: Is he never supposed to play again?”

That’s a good question. But let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Watson

is

supposed to play again. Why do the Browns have to completely kowtow to him?

[Browns GM Andrew] Berry said people shouldn’t be “defined by the mistakes that they made,” but Watson says he didn’t make any mistakes. Dee Haslam said, “We can talk about Deshaun or we can talk about the major issues the country faces” with sexual assault, as though it’s one or the other. Jimmy Haslam said the Browns want Watson to be the best player he can be and “more importantly, be the best person he can be.” I did not realize the Browns are paying Watson $230 million to be his guidance counselor.

Watson was already subjected to chants of “you sick f---” and “no means no” during the preseason opener. He can expect the same vitriol if he makes his return in Week 13 against the Texans.

The best of Sports Illustrated

In today’s Daily Cover, Alex Prewitt examines why Tua Tagovailoa is the most polarizing quarterback in the NFL:

Staunch supporters point to a variety of factors—Tagovailoa’s winning pedigree, accuracy from a statistical standpoint (66.2% career completion rate, 0.1% better than [Patrick] Mahomes), staff and roster upheaval in Miami and the early-career struggles of one Josh Allen, whom Dolphins fans see up close twice a year—to explain their belief that the best is yet to come. The arrival of rookie coach Mike McDaniel, plucked fresh off the fruitful [Kyle] Shanahan tree, and a revamped supporting cast only boost that notion.

On the other side stand critics, depicting Tagovailoa as a one-trick pony proficient in few designs aside from quick run-pass option throws. They highlight his inability to beat out journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick as a rookie and his struggles in do-or-die games in each of his two seasons. And they point to the 6'1" Tagovailoa’s lack of standout traits compared to those leading the modern arms race: Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Jackson and, yes, the man drafted a little more than seven minutes after Tua, Justin Herbert.

Conor Orr wrote more at length about Deshaun Watson’s insufficient apology. … Rohan Nadkarni analyzes what could be next for the Lakers after LeBron James’s contract extension. … These three MLB teams are showing why a six-man rotation could be the way of the future, Will Laws writes. … Avi Creditor breaks down the decision facing USMNT star Christian Pulisic, who has fallen out of favor at Chelsea ahead of the World Cup.

Around the sports world

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith hurt his knee in last night’s preseason game. … Meanwhile, Pete Carroll says that the other guy battling for the starting job, Drew Lock, is “really sick” with COVID-19. … Baker Mayfield is reportedly expected to start the season opener for the Panthers. … Add Memphis to the list of schools reportedly recruiting Bronny James. … Julie and Zach Ertz’s newborn son has a great football-themed name.

The top five...

… things I saw yesterday:

5. The Astros’ 21-run outburst against the White Sox.

4. This Reddit theory that Tom Brady is absent from Bucs camp because he’s off filming The Masked Singer.

3. Aníbal Sánchez’s 64-mph strikeout pitch.

2. Bronny James’s chase-down block.

1. Albert Pujols’s pinch-hit grand slam for his 690th career homer.

SIQ

On this day in 1945, which famed power hitter made his first appearance as a starting pitcher in his 20th MLB season?

• Mel Ott
• Johnny Mize
• Lou Gehrig
• Jimmie Foxx

Yesterday’s SIQ: When the infamous “Pine Tar Game” between the Royals and Yankees resumed on Aug. 18, 1983, how long did it take to complete?

• 12 minutes
• 18 minutes
• 24 minutes
• 36 minutes

Answer: 12 minutes. The game had begun July 24 and was originally declared a Yankees win. After Kansas City’s George Brett hit a go-ahead two-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Yankees successfully argued he had too much pine tar on his bat and Brett was ruled out, ending the game 4–3 in favor of New York. The Royals protested the game and American League president Lee MacPhail ruled in their favor, ordering that the game be resumed with two outs in the top of the ninth and the Royals leading 5–4.

Aug. 18, an off day for both teams, was chosen as the day for the game to resume. But the Yankees had no desire to pick up the game and took the matter to the courts. As the legal battle waged on, Yankees players considered simply forfeiting the game and having a pool party at the home of Goose Gossage, who had given up the home run to Brett, Steve Wulf wrote in SI.

With the fate of the game undecided, the Royals left Kansas City on a charter flight and headed east. They didn’t know when they took off whether they’d land and head to Yankee Stadium or in Baltimore to prepare for their next series against the Orioles. Still unsure of whether the game would be played, the Royals headed to Yankee Stadium, where they were informed that an appellate judge had ruled the game could take place.

Here’s how Wulf described what happened when the Yankees took the field at 6:04 p.m.:

As the game resumed, George Frazier, the Yankee pitcher, threw to first base on an appeal play; the Yankees were claiming that Brett had failed to touch first on his home-run trot 25 days earlier. Umpire Tim Welke signaled safe. Frazier threw to second on another appeal, and Umpire Dave Phillips signaled safe, at which point Yankee Manager Billy Martin strode out of the dugout to argue. How could Phillips know if Brett had touched first and second if he was working in Seattle on that long-ago day?

Phillips then produced a notarized letter from the original umpiring crew saying that both Brett and U.L. Washington, who was on base at the time of the homer, had touched all the sacks. It was a stroke of genius on the part of the American League. “Whoever thought of that should be the next commissioner,” said [Royals closer Dan] Quisenberry.

After Martin’s argument, the game got underway for real at 6:08 p.m., with Frazier striking out Hal McRae to end the inning. Quisenberry pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, and the game was officially over—finally—at 6:20 p.m.

From the Vault: Aug. 19, 1968

Herb Scharfman/Sports Illustrated

Curt Flood is best remembered today for being a pioneer of baseball’s labor movement, but he was also a pretty damn good ballplayer.

In 1968, the Cardinals were the class of the National League. Led by the unhittable Bob Gibson, St. Louis had built a 15-game lead by the second week of August. Among position players, though, the most important player was Flood. At 30, he was having the best season of his career, leading the team in batting average (.301) and on-base percentage (.339) while playing Gold Glove defense in center field. He would finish fourth in National League MVP voting behind Willie McCovey, Pete Rose and the winner, Gibson. It’s no wonder the cover of the Aug. 19 issue of SI declared him “baseball’s best centerfielder.” He was also a popular figure in the clubhouse, as William Leggett wrote in the accompanying cover story:

Flood also plays a large part in keeping the spirit of the Cardinals as high as it is. Together with [Tim] McCarver, Gibson and Roger Maris, he makes the Cardinal clubhouse stay alive with humor, both raucous and clever. The Cardinals thrive on the rib, and nobody is spared from it.

The Cardinals went on to win the NL pennant (though not by the wide margin Leggett predicted) but lost to the Tigers in the World Series in seven games.

Flood had another decent season in 1969 and in October of that year was traded to the Phillies. But Flood refused to report to his new team.

“I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold,” he famously wrote in a letter to commissioner Bowie Kuhn in which he petitioned to be declared a free agent.

Flood filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and all 24 MLB teams in hopes of having the reserve clause, which restricted player movement, shut down. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and while Flood lost the case it set the stage for the MLBPA’s future challenges of the reserve clause, which was struck down in 1975. (Flood sat out the ’70 season while enduring vitriol from baseball fans and made only a short comeback with the Washington Senators in ’71.)

When he died in 1997, former Cardinals teammate Joe Torre said he made an effort of extolling Flood’s virtues to young players.

“Every ballplayer,” said Torre, “not just his contemporaries, should mourn his passing.”

Check out more of SI’s archives and historic images at vault.si.com.

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