NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Appoints Former NJ Attorney General to Hear Appeal of Deshaun Watson's Suspension

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Appoints Former NJ Attorney General to Hear Appeal of Deshaun Watson’s Suspension

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Appoints Former NJ Attorney General to Hear Appeal of Deshaun Watson’s Suspension

The NFL has given word that they intend to appeal the suspension given to Cleveland Browns quarterback, Deshaun Watson. The league is looking for an indefinite suspension (Minimum one season suspension) along with a monetary fine.

The National Football League announced on Wednesday that it is appealing the decision that Judge Sue L. Robinson made regarding the six-game suspension suggested for Watson.

On Thursday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he has appointed former New Jersey attorney general Peter C. Harvey to hear the appeal of Watson’s six-game suspension. He was suspended for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy.

“Mr. Harvey served as the Attorney General of New Jersey and is now a partner at the Paterson Belknap firm in New York,” the league said Thursday in a written statement. “He has also served as a federal prosecutor. He has deep expertise in criminal law, including domestic violence and sexual assault, and has advised the NFL and other professional leagues on the development and implementation of workplace policies, including the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Mr. Harvey has also served as the Commissioner’s designee in other arbitrations.”

In Robinson’s ruling on Monday, the former federal judge cited that the NFL successfully “carried its burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Watson violated the (personal-conduct) policy” by engaging in “sexual assault; conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person; and conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL.”

Although the league argued that the Cleveland Browns quarterback should be suspended for, at minimum, the entire 2022 season, Robinson believes that she was “bound ‘by standards of fairness and consistency of treatment among players similarly situated'” in her decision.

Watson missed the 2021–2022 NFL season due to allegations of sexual misconduct by 22 women. Nearly two weeks after a grand jury refused to indict him, a second grand jury declined to indict the newly signed Cleveland Browns player.

Earlier this year, in March, Watson agreed to waive his no-trade clause with the Houston Texans to receive a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract from the Cleveland Browns, a move that was widely criticized by fans and media.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Appoints Former NJ Attorney General to Hear Appeal of Deshaun Watson’s Suspension

Leave a Reply

Categories

Discover more from The Industry Cosign

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading