The NFL Had to Appeal the Deshaun Watson Suspension

The NFL had to appeal the Deshaun Watson suspension. Every argument to keep Judge Sue L. Robinson’s six-game penalty intact—arguments about respecting the new collectively bargained disciplinary process, keeping labor peace, the idea that the NFL could outsource a complicated situation onto a neutral party and wash its hands of the decision—was outweighed by the obvious fact that Watson should not be playing football in October.

Watson, the 26-year-old Cleveland Browns quarterback, came under NFL investigation after being named in three sexual misconduct lawsuits (that number would eventually balloon to 24) by women who he hired as masseuses. Some of these lawsuits say Watson ejaculated on women without their consent; some say he touched women with his penis without consent; two say Watson orally penetrated women without their consent. All but one of these cases have been settled out of court.

Robinson heard the experiences of only four women in the hearing, which started in June, but she concluded that Watson had an “egregious” pattern of behavior. And after announcing her decision Monday, the NFL had three days to appeal. It did so on Wednesday and, per a source, is seeking an indefinite suspension of at least a year. There will be no further formal debate—the league’s management council has filed the appeal, and commissioner Roger Goodell or a designee will make the decision. It’s tempting to imagine Goodell in a sort of one-man Off Broadway show, presenting the case to himself then putting on an old-timey judge wig to make the decision. This is not that far off, although Goodell would probably be wise to appoint someone else in the league office to make the final determination.

The NFL is now in a messy situation. But really, it already was. This case has featured what might be a league-record amount of people and franchises embarrassing themselves in the wake of scandal: the Browns, the Texans, the double-digit teams who desperately wanted to be in the Browns’ shoes even knowing the possible consequences. It became a story about power, about what teams will do to sell out for a franchise quarterback, and the optics of a league that’s obsessed with them. And for the NFL, there was only one way out. The league knew there was going to be backlash against something, and it decided Wednesday it’d rather have people angry at the process than angry at a lax punishment.

If the indefinite suspension is pushed through, there’s only one way this will end: The NFL Players Association will sue, and this will end up in federal court. The NFL will eventually get its way, however long that takes. The New York Times’ Jenny Vrentas pointed out Wednesday that the CBA says the NFL’s ruling is “full, final and complete.” She quoted a labor law expert who said, because of that clause, whatever the NFL brings back will be airtight against judicial overturn. The NFLPA can buy time or goodwill from its members by drawing this out, but the new CBA, signed in 2020, is just like the old ones: The NFL has ironclad language in its corner that will give it the “win,” as it did in Deflategate and other cases that have gone…