Deshaun Watson Settles Three of Four Remaining Lawsuits
Early in the morning on the day Sue Robinson is scheduled to make her recommendation on a potential punishment for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, Tony Buzbee announced a settlement with three of the four outstanding accusers.
That brings the total to 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed by women accusing Watson of sexual assault and misconduct. This will have no bearing on Robinson's recommendation, but Watson wants to avoid being punished twice.
By settling these cases, he avoids going through a discovery process that could leak damaging information to the public. Even though it may not be new information to the NFL or either legal team, that could result in pressure later to punish Watson a second time.
Watson joined a statement with the NFLPA announcing they would abide by Robinson's recommendation to the league. That's not binding, but might be an indication of their level of confidence in the outcome based on what was widely reported to be a relatively weak case from the NFL due to lack of evidence.
Watson now has one pending civil lawsuit remaining. Should it find its way to a courtroom, it will take place in 2023. That leaves plenty of time for another settlement to be worked out should both sides be seeking one.
For now, Watson awaits Robinson's announcement and recommendation to the league. The NFL has not committed to accepting anything at this point, though there are plenty who believe that it would undermine both Robinson and the new collectively bargained discipline process if they appealed it to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
