After a 19-month absence from soccer, Deshaun Watson began an N.F.L. preseason sport on Friday night time.
Earlier than the sport started, the Cleveland Browns quarterback did one thing else that had been practically as lengthy coming: He apologized for the primary time since greater than two dozen ladies 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 keen to simply accept an eight-game suspension and a $5 million effective, after his representatives initially argued for no missed time.
“I wish to say that I’m actually sorry to the entire ladies that I’ve impacted on this scenario,” Watson mentioned in an interview with the Browns broadcast crew. “The selections that I made in my life that put me on this place, I might positively wish to have again, however I wish to proceed to maneuver ahead and develop and study and present that I’m a real individual 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 had been reached earlier than the sport, Watson would have been instantly excluded from all crew 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 legal professional normal, who was chosen by N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell final week to evaluation the case and difficulty a call on an “expedited” foundation. There is no such thing as a timetable for when that can occur.
The Browns had introduced Wednesday that Watson would begin Friday’s preseason opener. He appeared 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 decide 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 because 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 effective and counseling, the league expressed considerations over Watson’s lack of regret, an element Robinson additionally cited in her determination.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the house owners of the Browns, expressed assist for Watson in a press release final week and mentioned that he had been “remorseful.” Watson’s feedback earlier than Friday’s sport had 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 in opposition to him by ladies who mentioned he assaulted or harassed them throughout therapeutic massage appointments, and two grand juries in Texas declined to indict him on legal fees.
Watson’s suspension is about to start the week of the Browns’ first regular-season sport, Sept. 11 in opposition to 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 in opposition to 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 crew despatched a number of high draft picks to Houston and signed Watson to a five-year, totally assured $230 million contract.