Deshaun Watson appeal

A couple of things to unpack.

  1. I 100% believe he deserves a suspension of at least a full season.
  2. The Players Association has to be the dumbest union in the US. They literally agreed to arbitration that can be overturned by Goodell.
  3. Will there really be “outrage” by any players because of this? There should be because of how the process unfolded, but any player that speaks out will look like he condones Watson’s behavior.

6 games is too low. But you know what unions worry about? Precedent. There’s no criminal case and the civil cases are settled. Other players will worry about how this might affect them in some hypothetical situation.

There is a good chance that this will be a giant sticking point in the next CBA negotiations.
After Goodell ignores the recommendations of a retired Federal Judge, there is no way the Union is going to allow him to hold on to dictator like power.

Maybe. I liked when he started because he seemed to be going after repeat offenders (Pacman and a couple of others) who were really damaging the reputation of the league. But he’s just as arbitrary as anyone. What we all should know by now is that the length of the suspension will be determined, not by the seriousness of the offense, but by the level of media coverage. The Ray Rice case made that clear.

Penny wise, pound foolish.