CLEVELAND, Ohio — Deshaun Watson isn’t in the clear yet from his most recent sexual assault allegation.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday at the NFL fall meeting in Atlanta that the league is still investigating his case under its personal conduct policy despite the fact Watson resolved the civil suit with a confidential settlement on Oct. 7.
“We’re continuing our review,” Goodell told reporters covering the meeting. “We take the personal conduct policy seriously. And so our people are working diligently.”
If the NFL finds that the complaint rises to a new violation of the policy, it can levy further sanctions against Watson, including a suspension, fine and more counseling.
The suit was filed by attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of a woman who accused Watson of sexually assaulting her on a date at the woman’s apartment in Houston in 2020. She was the 24th client of Buzbee’s to settle with Watson after suing him for sexual assault or misconduct.
The other 23 were massage therapists who accused him of sexual misconduct during appointments.
With the most recent plaintiff, who was seeking $1 million in damages, reaching a confidential settlement with Watson, it remains to be seen if the NFL will still interview her or Watson about the alleged incident.
The investigation is being led by Lisa Friel, NFL special counsel for investigations. Former chief of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Friel also led the probe into accusations by more than two dozen massage therapists of sexual misconduct on the part of Watson when he played for the Houston Texans, mostly in 2021.
That investigation resulted in an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine for Watson for what the NFL determined was sexual misconduct and other violations of the policy. He was also ordered to undergo extensive mandatory treatment for what the NFL deemed was a disturbing pattern of behavior.
It will be incumbent upon Friel to determine if the most recent complaint constitutes a new violation of the personal conduct policy, and if so, if it’s egregious and different enough to warrant further discipline.
Under terms of the suspension settlement reached by the NFL and NFL Players Association, Watson wasn’t to be further penalized for new cases that were “the same or substantially similar” to the others. The accusations in this filing were more serious than any of the others.
With the Browns at 1-5 and having little hope of making the playoffs, Watson has come under heavy fire for the poor performance of the new offense this season, which is last in the NFL. Local and national NFL analysts have called for his benching, but Kevin Stefanski is sticking with him as the Browns host the Bengals this week, saying he “gives us the best chance to win.”
