We have heard various levels of remorse from Deshaun Watson during the entire process that began with his multiple alleged sexual assaults against massage therapists when Watson was a member of the Houston Texans. Watson was able to dial up that remorse as the settlement process between the NFL and NFLPA went on to its ultimate conclusion — that Watson would be suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season, fined $5 million, and required to undergo mandatory counseling.
Right after this was all announced on Thursday morning, Watson held a press conference, and appeared to reveal his true colors on the entire mess.
Deshaun Watson on why he’s apologizing then: “For everybody that was affected by this situation. There were a lot of people that were triggered.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 18, 2022
This is an utterly reprehensible statement for Watson to make, and it reinforces that he got off light. The NFL had originally wanted to suspend Watson for the entire 2022 season, fine him a higher amount, and make his 2023 reinstatement conditional on counseling.
If this is what Watson really believes — that he had to settle because a lot of people were “triggered…”
We’ll just have to hope that this is the end of whatever misdeeds Watson has done in his NFL career.
By the way, on August 1, after former federal judge Sue L. Robinson originally ruled that Watson should serve a six-game suspension, the Haslams released this statement:
“Throughout this process, Deshaun and his representatives have abided by the newly created and agreed upon process for the NFLPA and the NFL to defer to the objective Judge Sue L. Robinson to comprehensively review all information and make a fair decision,” the Haslam’s said. “We respect Judge Robinson’s decision, and at the same time, empathize and understand that there have been many individuals triggered throughout this process. We know Deshaun is remorseful that this situation has caused much heartache to many and he will continue the work needed to show who he is on and off the field, and we will continue to support him.”
Apparently, that word is doing a lot of work in the Browns organization these days.