Deshaun Watson gets laughable suspension from Sue Robinson as NFL fumbles its case | Opinion

Every time the NFL has a chance to stand for women, it fails. Spectacularly.

Retired judge Sue L. Robinson deserves no small amount of criticism, whether it’s for the laughably light six-game suspension she recommended for Deshaun Watson on Monday morning or her rationalization for it because his predatory behavior was “nonviolent sexual conduct.” It’s that kind of 1950s thinking, that assaults and harassment don’t really count unless violence is involved, that perpetuates rape culture and marginalization of women.

Robinson’s assessment, and her decision, were also based on the violations leveled against Watson by the NFL and the evidence the league provided. As it always does when it comes to women, the league did the bare minimum.

It claimed it wanted at least a yearlong suspension, yet presented evidence from just four of the two dozen cases against Watson.

"The NFL’s investigation was conducted by two former prosecutors with decades of experience investigating sexual assault cases. Although Mr. Watson allegedly worked with more than 60 massage therapists during the 15-month period beginning in the fall of 2019 through the winter of 2021, the NFL only investigated the claims of the 24 therapists suing Mr. Watson for damages. Of these 24 complainants, the NFL investigators were only able to interview 12; of those 12, the NFL relied for its conclusions on the testimony of 4 therapists ('the therapists')," Robinson wrote.

Now why would that be?

WATSON DECISION: Read Sue L. Robinson's decision on Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson in full

Does the deep-pocketed NFL not have the resources that newspapers and magazines do? Do prosecutors experienced in sexual assault cases lack the interview skills or tenacity of reporters? Is a league office, hard-wired to overkill everything, naive enough to think that the stories of four women, even if they are representative of more, will have the same impact as, say, details from four dozen?

Or is it that the NFL just didn't want to try that hard, knowing it would be maligning a quarterback whose record-setting contract will make him a face of the league for the foreseeable future?

Regardless of the decisions by two grand juries not to indict Watson – before you use this to exonerate the quarterback, do some research on the difficulty in bringing charges in sexual abuse cases – it has always been the volume of complaints, and the accompanying details, that have been so damning.

Two dozen women filed civil lawsuits in which they detailed sexual misconduct by Watson. A police detective said in a deposition for those civil cases that she believed Watson’s behavior was criminal.

The New York Times reported that, over a 17-month span, he had booked massage appointments with at least 66 women – a number and haphazardness that any elite athlete will tell you is not normal. The Houston Texans needed less time to decide to settle lawsuits with 30 women who accused the team of enabling Watson than they normally need to fall out of playoff contention.

All that, and the NFL still couldn’t make the case that Watson deserved more than six games. That works out to Watson sitting one quarter for every woman who sued him. Or one game for the degradation and humiliation suffered by four women.

That’s a pathetic exchange rate on its face, made all the more enraging when you consider that DeAndre Hopkins will sit out the same number of games for a first violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. Tom Brady served two games less for the equivalent of a frat-house prank.

Calvin Ridley, once one of the NFL’s best receivers, is persona non grata indefinitely for gambling on NFL games – games that took place while he was on personal leave from the Atlanta Falcons, mind you, so not ones in which he could have had any impact.

The NFL also whiffed on a chance to level more violations of the personal conduct policy against Watson, which, theoretically, could have lengthened his suspension.

The NFL accused Watson of violating provisions covering: sexual assault; conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person; and conduct detrimental to the league. Yet it chose not to pursue two other glaringly obvious violations: threatening behavior toward someone in a workplace setting, and stalking, harassment or similar forms of intimidation.

Unless the NFL appeals, Watson will be back before the end of October, giving him plenty of time to take the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs and make everyone forget his misdeeds.

Tell me again how much the NFL cares about its female fan base. How the increase in the number of women on coaching staffs and in front offices shows how much respect there is for women and their experiences.

SUSPENSION: Browns QB Deshaun Watson suspended six games

MORE SUITS SETTLED: Browns QB Watson settles three more lawsuits

MORE: Thirty women settle with Houston Texans over claims related to Watson

Robinson rightly pointed out that, as a private organization, the NFL "can operate as it deems fit." But it has a long track record of taking a definitive stand for women only when it thinks there’s a buck to be made off them. It might make a public show of support, as it did in claiming it wanted a career-curtailing suspension for Watson, but it defaults to a “boys will be boys” attitude when it comes time for substantive action.

It is not lost on women, or anyone who recognizes the cravenness of commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, that the same league that lets Daniel Snyder skate on all of his reprehensible behavior toward women didn’t fight harder to hold Watson to account.

Goodell and the NFL can go scorched earth when they want to; we saw it with Deflategate. They simply have chosen not to when it comes to violence and abuse of women.

The NFL doesn’t give a damn about women. Shame on us for thinking it will ever be any different.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deshaun Watson gets laughable suspension as NFL fumbles case