After a 19-month absence from soccer, Deshaun Watson began an N.F.L. preseason sport on Friday evening.
Earlier than the sport started, the Cleveland Browns quarterback did one thing else that had been almost as lengthy coming: He apologized for the primary time since greater than two dozen girls mentioned he sexually assaulted or harassed them in therapeutic massage appointments.
As Watson took the sector, met by boos from the sparse crowd at Jacksonville’s TIAA Financial institution Discipline, a league adviser was persevering with to weigh his eligibility for the upcoming common season.
The day earlier than each the sport and Watson’s apology, The Related Press reported that Watson can be prepared to just accept an eight-game suspension and a $5 million wonderful, after his representatives initially argued for no missed time.
“I wish to say that I’m actually sorry to all the girls that I’ve impacted on this state of affairs,” Watson mentioned in an interview with the Browns broadcast staff. “The choices that I made in my life that put me on this place, I might undoubtedly prefer to have again, however I wish to proceed to maneuver ahead and develop and be taught and present that I’m a real particular person of character.”
As the sport’s kickoff approached, there was rising stress about whether or not Watson’s begin would go forward as deliberate. Even with a regular-season suspension looming, he is ready to take part in all practices and exhibition video games till his suspension begins within the season’s first week. But when the attraction yielded the season-long ban that the league was pushing for, and if that call have been reached earlier than the sport, Watson would have been instantly excluded from all staff actions and would have needed to apply for reinstatement on the finish of the season.
The attraction is being heard by Peter C. Harvey, a former New Jersey lawyer basic, who was chosen by N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell final week to evaluate the case and problem a call on an “expedited” foundation. There is no such thing as a timetable for when that may occur.
The Browns had introduced Wednesday that Watson would begin Friday’s preseason opener. He regarded rusty, finishing solely one in all 5 passes in three offensive sequence earlier than being pulled, however his on-field efficiency was only a footnote.
On Aug. 1, Sue L. Robinson, a retired federal choose collectively appointed by the N.F.L. and the gamers union to supervise the disciplinary listening to, decided that Watson had dedicated a number of violations of the league’s private conduct coverage on account of conduct she deemed “predatory” and “egregious.” Two days later, the league appealed, in accordance with a brand new disciplinary course of established as a part of the 2020 collective bargaining settlement.
In arguing for a full-season ban, together with a wonderful and counseling, the league expressed considerations over Watson’s lack of regret, an element Robinson additionally cited in her resolution.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the house owners of the Browns, expressed help for Watson in a press release final week and mentioned that he had been “remorseful.” Watson’s feedback earlier than Friday’s sport have been the primary time he had publicly expressed contrition for his actions.
Watson had beforehand denied the accusations, telling reporters at a information convention in June that he regretted their affect on his teammates and the individuals round him. Watson settled 23 of the lawsuits filed towards him by girls who mentioned he assaulted or harassed them throughout therapeutic massage appointments, and two grand juries in Texas declined to indict him on prison fees.
Watson’s suspension is about to start the week of the Browns’ first regular-season sport, Sept. 11 towards the Carolina Panthers.
He has not performed in a sport, both common season or exhibition, since Jan. 3, 2021, when he was nonetheless a member of the Houston Texans. He requested a commerce that month, and in March 2021 the primary lawsuit was filed towards him. Although Watson was eligible to play, he sat out the 2021 N.F.L. season.
The Browns traded for Watson this spring after a grand jury in Texas declined to indict him. The staff despatched a number of high draft picks to Houston and signed Watson to a five-year, absolutely assured $230 million contract.