Gilbert Arenas has shared his two cents on Deshaun Watson’s 11-game suspension from the NFL and according to him, “Deshaun Watson getting MeToo’d: he asked for permission; isn’t MeToo for that?
Vlad got more;
Gilbert Arenas shares his thoughts on DeShaun Watson’s 11-game suspension from the NFL. Initially, Arenas seemed baffled by the notion that Watson has to serve a suspension when he already missed all of last season and he did not break any laws, from a legal standpoint. To that, DJ Vlad explains to Arenas how Watson violated his victims over time.
This sparks debate about if the punishment was warranted, given that Watson did not break the law and what’s right and wrong in today’s climate. From there, they dive deeper into Watson’s case and try to make sense of why he would enlist the services of 66 different women for massages.
Here is what the NFL had to say about the suspension.
For as long as he’s an NFL player, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson must have team-approved massage sessions with approved therapists. That’s according to the settlement he reached with the NFL over the summer, per three sources familiar with the matter.
Browns GM Andrew Berry said in August the team had a “plan in place” for Watson’s massage appointments. I’m told that plan has been in place since the Browns traded for Watson, though exact details of the plan are unclear. The settlement, which was announced Aug. 18, states Watson can only have “club-directed sessions and club-approved massage therapists” for the duration of his NFL career — not just with the Browns.
Retired judge Sue L. Robinson, who heard the case as an independent arbitrator, had previously advised Watson should limit his massages to those that are team approved as a condition of his reinstatement.
Watson is now serving an 11-game suspension for allegations of sexual misconduct during massage therapy appointments dating back to 2020. He has settled 23 of 24 civil lawsuits against him. As part of his settlement with the NFL, he had to pay a $5 million fine and agreed to follow a treatment plan put together by professional behavioral experts.
Within about 10 days after the settlement was reached, Watson had to undergo a professional evaluation by behavioral experts that would then determine and map out a treatment plan. Though we don’t know the details of that plan due to privacy laws, but it was stressed to me by one league source that this is treatment and not counseling, if that distinction makes a difference.
His press conference the day the settlement was announced seemed contradictory to his previous statements in more controlled environments. He said he will “continue to stand on my innocence.”
“I have to do what’s best for Deshaun Watson at the end of the day and I know what happened,” Watson told reporters in August. “I was in those situations, but I have to continue to push forward and keep moving forward.”
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