This is all a done deal at this point. It’s been a farce from the start.
I’m not saying Watson is innocent … heck maybe he deserves a severe sentence … but the idea that this was ever going to be a fair process is idiotic
Claiming a six game suspension was fair to any of his victims is what I find to be laughable. Anyone who reads Sue Robinson's report and doesn't think a suspension of far more than six games is called for is looking at this through Browns goggles.
Sorry for hijacking your question but this question is very good.
IMHO I think there’re two important things that heavily works against Watson getting a totally fair punishment for his actions.
1. His unwillingness to accept guilt and accountability.
2. That the Browns gave him a monster contract with so much guaranteed money.
I’m 100% sure that if he had immediately accept accountability, asap made settlements with a as many women as possible and accept some sort of guilt then the public opinion had been totally different.
I’m also 100% sure that the $230m contract, they way the Browns constructed the conditions made things 100 times worse and only worked as fuel to the fire.
Without these two factors then I think the public opinion (and probably me) would easily had accepted a 8-12 games suspension. Give and take. With the current circumstances 6 games seems to be unfairly and maybe 12 games and a hefty fine is the floor for the broad majority to accept without going bananas.
Maybe I’m totally unsynchronized with the rest but I think that a small portion of the punishment is also a slap on the wrist against the Browns FO. Wherever I read and listen people don’t exactly have a favorable opinion about our current leadership/owners, to put it mildly.
