Resolution For Deshaun Watson – – Perhaps

The latest chapter in the Deshaun Watson dramatic tour de force came to a close yesterday.  It si not over, but we can move on to a new phase.  By now, you surely have heard/read that Watson, the NFLPA and the NFL agreed that he will miss 11 games in 2022 and that he will pay a $5M fine (donated to a charity) and that he will undergo a therapy plan.  That is more punishment than the arbiter who heard the case originally mandated but it is less than what the NFL reportedly sought in this case.

Before I get to my take on yesterday’s events, please let me point you to Sally Jenkins’ column today in the Washington Post.  Jenkins has been a severe critic of both Watson and the NFL from the outset of this multi-act drama; to call today’s column “biting” would be a serious understatement.  Just to whet your appetite, here is the headline for the column followed by a brilliantly crafted turn of phrase:

“Deshaun Watson is the star the NFL deserves: A cynical, empty narcissist”

And…

“Once you place your finger squarely on this, you can’t hear anything said by the league or by Cleveland Browns officials as anything other than a concerto of condescension and connivance.”

Psychologists define a condition, cognitive dissonance, as the discomfort that is created when one holds two or more conflicting values/beliefs/attitudes in mind at the same time.  People struggle to resolve – or at least minimize – the discomfort created by such a conflict  Deshaun Watson must have some degree of cognitive dissonance after yesterday’s settlement with the NFL and his statements to the public.  Where to start?

In a prepared statement, Watson said:

“I apologize once again for any pain this situation has caused. I take accountability for the decisions I made.”

In dealing with the press after the settlement was announced, he said:

“I’m going to continue to stand on my innocence.  Just because settlements and things like that happen doesn’t mean that a person is guilty for anything.”

So, what is he apologizing for if he is not “guilty for anything”?  When an innocent party apologizes for something (s)he has not done, you have to suspect immediately that the apology is just a tad insincere.

The NFL pooh-bahs must also be suffering some cognitive dissonance this morning too.  The settlement agreement among the parties here calls for Watson to “comply with a professional treatment plan” yet to be specified and that his return to the field after sitting out 11 games is contingent with his compliance.  Really?

• What is Watson to be treated for?  If he is innocent, how can he comply with something that starts from the premise that he did lots of bad things?
• How will the league, the union and Watson’s representatives decide on who will treat him for what?  I am unaware of any mental health expertise among the group of Roger Goodell (NFL Commish), DeMaurice Smith (NFLPA head) and/or Rusty Hardin (Watson’s defense lawyer).  Yet, they will have to agree that someone will treat Watson for something that at least two of the parties contend is hunky-dory.
• Who gets to determine in Week 12 when Watson is eligible to return to the field that he has complied with the treatment?  That troika mentioned above?  What happens if there is “dissent” after Week 11?
• How does anyone know now – when there is probably no agreement as to what is to be treated – that it might be sufficiently ameliorated by Week 12 that Watson can return to the field and not revert to whatever it was that he “didn’t do” to start this whole saga?

I am glad this chapter of the book is over; I have no interest in revisiting any of the allegations made by any or all of the two dozen women who have received civil settlements from Deshaun Watson.  Nor do I want to hear any more convoluted nonsense from Watson; and most assuredly, I would hope for both Dee Haslem and Jimmy Haslem to shut the [bleep] up about second chances and moving on to solve the real problems facing the country.

Here is the bottom line:

• Deshaun Watson got off easier than he would have if I were the original arbiter and/or the person assigned to rule on the appeal.

Still left in the air is any sort of resolution regarding the actions of the Houston Texans that may have facilitated Watson’s alleged actions.  Recall the team helped him find massage therapists and one of its employees supposedly gave Watson non-disclosure agreements for new therapists to sign.  Or is this just another situation where all of us need not pay any attention to the man behind the curtain…?

Finally, let me close with this off-field football related item from David Whitley in the Gainesville Sun:

“[Steve] Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille celebrated its first anniversary last week. Managing partner Freddie Wehbe said it’s quickly become the fifth-busiest restaurant in Florida. Among the stats: 128,962 cocktails and 38,644 bottles of wine were sold, which rivaled the record amount served in the Gator Bowl parking lot before the 1976 Florida-Georgia game.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………