Grrrr when will we stop this?

Women must change this

Money talks, bullchit walks ... around in an NFL uniform.

What will it take when a FEMALE judge gives a slap on the wrist?

Would you take a bribe.. wait, bribe is illegal, would you allow yourself to be LOBBIED for this bullchit light sentence if it put a few million in your pocket?

More than two dozen women accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct during massage treatments from the fall of 2019 through March of 2021.

But that didn’t stop the Cleveland Browns from trading for him and then signing him to a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. And, apparently for now, the allegations won’t stop him from playing football this season.

In a stunning and controversial ruling, Sue L. Robinson, a retired federal judge jointly agreed upon by the NFL and the players’ union to rule on the case, announced Monday that Watson should be suspended six games. Robinson ruled Watson’s conduct as “predatory” and “egregious,” but wrote in her ruling, “While it may be entirely appropriate to more severely discipline players for nonviolent sexual conduct, I do not believe it is appropriate to do so without notice of the extraordinary change this position portends for the NFL and its players.”

The NFL wanted at least a year’s suspension and has until Thursday to appeal the decision. The players association has already said it won’t appeal.

All along, Watson has denied any wrongdoing and no criminal charges were brought against him. But he did settle 23 of the 24 suits against him.

Before you go any further, however, read?this compelling June 7 story from The New York Times’ Jenny Vrentas. After reading it, it’s hard to not be infuriated by what seems like a ridiculously light six-game suspension.

That seemed to be the general media reaction on Monday.

Speaking on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,”?co-host Kyle Brandt said, “You start to lose track of the human element of this story. This is not a player that's being suspended for PEDS, or even gambling. This is a very poignant human story involving women … Who cares if it's (only) one? Do you understand? It could be one and there's also this non-violent phrase that's being thrown out like it's some kind of Band-Aid. The word is coercive. And I look at six and I find it very light. I hope it doesn't stay that way personally. I think that Deshaun Watson leveraged his status as an NFL player against women. … And I think it happened more than one time and I think it was (behind) closed doors in small rooms against women who were probably intimidated. And it pisses me off to even talk about it. And frankly it pisses me off to see the number six."

Speaking on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” co-host Michael Wilbon said that once you see a phrase like “predatory behavior,” the suspension should have “rocketed past six games. … It just seems weak.”

Wilbon’s “PTI” co-host Tony Kornheiser added, “It shocked me. I honestly thought he would get the full season and deservedly so. … It seems clear to me, and I’ve said this before on this show, that Deshaun Watson thinks of massage therapists as prostitutes.”

On ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” panelist Clinton Yates said he couldn’t even understand the ruling. “Non-violent sexual assault? That’s not a thing in my world in 2022. … I was stunned to hear such a ridiculously kind of old-school mentality about what we understand about how to protect women in this country as the baseline for why he only deserved a certain amount of games.”

Yates called it “very disappointing” and “very discouraging” and that it “just doesn’t feel right.”

“Around the Horn” panelist Sarah Spain noted that under this format, the NFL was essentially the prosecution in this case. “Which means,” Spain said, “that a league that has a horrific record on sexual violence and caring about women is the one expected to present a compelling case about the acts of this man and why he should be punished.”

Spain correctly said the judge’s ruling was based on precedent set by the NFL.

The ruling came under even more scrutiny considering the judge essentially agreed with the NFL that Watson was guilty.?The Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel had the four takeaways?from the judge’s ruling:

Watson committed sexual assault against the four massage therapists included in the NFL’s investigation.

Watson’s conduct posed a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person.

Watson’s behavior undermined the NFL’s integrity.

Nevertheless, Watson’s behavior was not considered violent conduct.

Yahoo sports columnist Shalise Manza Young wrote, “(Robinson) thinks Watson is such a danger that she wants him, for the remainder of his career, to get massages only through his team or with a team-approved therapist. To some of us, that sounds like a predator, someone who knows what they’re doing is wrong, does it anyway and could do it again in the future. And yet given all of this, Robinson gave Watson what amounts to a slap on the wrist. His non-throwing one at that.”

To that point,?The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill tweeted, “If you have to put in the ruling that Deshaun Watson is only allowed to utilize the Browns’ massage therapists, then maybe he should be getting suspended more than 6 games.”

As far as what was in the ruling,?Pro Football Talk managing editor Michael David Smith tweeted, “I just fundamentally disagree with the idea that Deshaun Watson needed to be given ‘fair notice’ that there would be serious consequences for engaging in sexual misconduct with dozens of women.”

ESPN’s Mina Kimes called the ruling?“utterly incoherent” and “confusing.” Kimes later noted that the NFL put this format of an independent arbitrator in charge of discipline in place to keep NFL commissioner Roger Goodell from being the judge and jury.

But she said she would like to see Goodell show a “sign that he takes sexual violence, sexual assault, domestic violence … seriously.”

This story feels far from over, with media and public reaction likely to nudge Goodell and the NFL to reexamine the judge’s ruling and reconsider the suspension.