HOUSTON – For the past 16 days, the NFL has had the luxury of time and patience as civil lawsuits pile up against Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson.
While advocates tossed accusations back and forth through lawsuits and media statements, the league was able to exercise the necessary caution without a ticking bell of criminal investigation hanging over its own disciplinary process. The conclusion? If Watson was not part of a police investigation, the NFL would do it something about his roster status following sexual misconduct, allegations are mitigated.
That changed significantly Friday when the Houston Police Department announced that a complaint had been officially lodged with authorities about Watson.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, followed up on the statement with one of his own – it appears the complaint is related to the quarterback’s civil lawsuit.
“We welcome this long-awaited development,” Hardin said in the statement. ‘Now we’ll learn the identity of at least one prosecutor. We will cooperate fully with the Houston Department of Police. ”
These two statements now put NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at a crossroads. He now has to process an increasing collection of allegations and investigations into Watson, which puts a spotlight on how Goodell selects the players and incidents and chooses what he believes is justified in invoking the status of the Commissioner’s released list. The released list is essentially a form of paid leave for players, which previously came into effect when authorities or the league (or both) began sorting out allegations of criminal conduct.
While the Houston Police Department is filing a criminal complaint and launching its own investigation – though one that does not yet have any details behind the charge, it appears Watson fits the description. This is a significant change in status. Before that happened, Watson was merely the target for civil litigation that contained no criminal charges and justified a low impediment to the charge. In essence, anyone can file a civil lawsuit at any time and it proves nothing. But a civil lawsuit coupled with a criminal complaint that triggers a police investigation draws the NFL deeper into its own definitions of what justifies an exempt listing situation.
So these are the four realities that are now from Goodell’s outlook on whether Watson should be placed on the released list:
* The quarter has 21 civil cases alleging some element of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault.
A 22-year-old woman alleges Watson’s misconduct during a massage session, according to a Sports Illustrated report.
* An unknown criminal charge against Watson has been filed with Houston police.
* Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, has indicated that the criminal charge relates to at least one piece of civil litigation currently pending against the player.
* The NFL will begin team activities later this month, which would allow Watson to start working with the Texans out of season (though that seems unlikely).
According to the league’s personal behavior:
A player may be placed on paid administrative leave under one of the following circumstances according to the Commissioner – exempt list:
First, when a player is formally charged with a crime of violence, which means that he is accused of using physical violence or a weapon to injure or threaten another person, that he is using violence or ‘ a sexual assault on a person who was unable to give consent, to act on others who pose a significant danger to the safety or well-being of another person, or to commit animal cruelty. The formal charges can be in the form of a charge sheet by a large jury, the filing of charges by a prosecutor, or a decision in a criminal court.
Second, when an investigation leads the Commissioner to believe that a player has violated this Policy by committing any of the above conduct, he may act where the circumstances and evidence justify it. This decision does not reflect a finding of guilt or innocence and will not be guided by the same legal standards and considerations that would apply in a criminal trial.
As of now, Watson has not been charged with a crime and does not apply to the first standard. But the second standard is wide open and leaves Goodell with the considerable latitude of whether Watson has “violated” the policy on personal conduct. Previously, Goodell only had his own league investigation (which is currently underway) to make that kind of determination. Now he is investigating the Houston Department of Police with his own investigation.
The most important thing at the moment is that Goodell does not need to know that Watson is guilty of violating the policy on personal conduct. He just has to believe that the quarterback “violated” it. And this is where the pressure starts to increase. Looking at the 21 civil lawsuits that accused Watson of sexual misconduct, along with the Sports Illustrated report that reflects some parts of the pending cases and the criminal complaint filed with the Houston Department of Police, Goodell is now beginning to take shape.
If this is not the threshold for a situation in which Watson ‘violates’ the policy on personal conduct, what is the threshold?
Finally, Goodell will be pressed for the description. And the development of Friday will have played an important role in finding the answer.
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