has been reeling
in recent days. It was a weird week on Monday, there was
a sense of Celebration judge Sewall Robinson, suspends
DeShaun Watson. Only six games even though she found that, he
committed multiple violations of the personal conduct policy
in multiple different ways
and then you wasn't truthful about it and he engaged in non
violence sexual assault and somehow, the legal maneuverings
of Jeffrey, Kessler, managed to limit it to six games. What
a victory.
Okay. Crappy NFL has appealed the decision to the NFL were
screwed. Now, that's kind of how the week went and one of
the things that we were explaining Chris, very loudly
and very confidently was the idea that unless the nflpa
appeals the sixth
game suspension,
any saber-rattling about a lawsuit that could be filed by
the nflpa with a request that the suspension be delayed until
the case is resolved and we saw Tom Brady on the field for
a year and
Sighs eql in on the field for much of a year because of that
kind of success in court, HoHo, Browns fans. Perking up about
the possibility of DeShaun Watson playing week. Why don't
we said? No, no, no, stop it.
Unless the nflpa appeals the six game suspension.
He's out for the first six weeks.
The only question is, does it continue beyond week 6, if as
we assume Peter Harvey levies a much greater suspension? So it
I mean we were as clear as we can. Could be. Yeah.
But somebody connected to the union was talking to reporters
who aren't lawyers and who don't understand how this works
and that's fine. But it was getting traction over
the weekend. This idea that well, maybe the maybe, maybe he will
play week one. No,
he's not playing Week 1. And finally,
finally Charles Robinson juice credit because he was one of
the ones who got Bamboozled by. Whoever was saying, whatever
they were saying he acknowledged
that they backed off. He acknowledged that it's done and
Of course, now I'm hearing from people with the Union,
it was never a thing. Well, why didn't you? Why do you say that
three days ago? When I was pushing back on, on this, with
a point-by-point? Explanation of why it doesn't make sense.
And the most obvious reason is
you've got to appeal that decision if you don't appeal
that decision and you go to court and you say we'd like him
to play week 1. The first question from the judges. Did
you appeal
the decision that suspended in for the first six games of
the year? No, you're done. Then you're done because he had
a found an appeal, those Six right? The NF l-- W. It longer
the NFL Road.
It's paperwork to make it clear. It respects
the six, it just wants more than that. So it's done. It's
over. He's not playing week. One, or two or three or four or
five or six, you won't see him, no matter what happens next,
you were all over this from the
start. So mean,
you know, the nflpa took the approach of, we're not going to
appeal it because they are happy with the decision. But
Are they wrong with it? I mean, it looks like they were wrong
to do that. It's almost like, well, it's almost like because
of this. You have to appeal everything all the time now
almost nothing. Nflpa. Am I wrong to say that they backed
themselves into a corner
by issuing that statement on Sunday night?
Yes, trying to cajole the NFL and to respecting the decision
of su L Robbins. I mean there's this weird mindset out there
and I hear it from people in the media. Oh well, you have
an independent judge who resolve this case. Why should we not
expect her decision
because Does everybody agree that the NFL has jurisdiction
over the appeal? Everybody agreed. And you know my theory
Chris
I think she deliberately found a way to placate the NFL by
giving them the factual findings. They need to suspend
him a lot longer than six games, right. And play K to
the nflpa
by only suspending him six games now, nobody's upset with
her, nobody's going to exercise their prerogative, to fire her,
and caused her to lose her ability to hold herself out as
somebody who's
Disciplinary officer for the NFL NFL PA personal conduct
policy appeals, which is a real thing. Yeah, lawyers Market
themselves. We talked about doctors doing the same thing.
Nick Riviera the official doctor, the Jacksonville
Jaguars,
that's a thing. You want that relationship because it makes
you more in the eyes of the average person attractive in
that service, that you provide. Yeah, yeah, I hear you there.
That's,
it's, it's, I mean, to me, it has a bad look for the nflpa
and Maybe where they should have, you know, just more
strictly stuck up for their plier,
you know, a little bit. Maybe like other sports. They did,
they did, I know, but maybe they need. They claim like,
hey, six games is, that's still too much. He missed all last
year and
we're going to appeal it,
you know, just for this very reason.
And that to me is where again, we know the owners have all
the power really in this league. We, yeah, there's there's deals
agreed to and I know there's a CBA and all that.
The NFL PA is never going to be as strong as some of the other
sports because NFL players don't play as long so they're
never going to band together to draw a hard line and some of
this stuff and really get what they want. And
that's where I find it. You know,
the nflpa has to be that
they got to be the jerks here. And I don't know if they were
jerking enough on the behalf of the Jean Watson. Again, I'm not
sticking up for Deshaun Watson here. I'm just talking about
the nflpa and things I've seen throughout my lifetime covering
the NFL,
and I think they dropped the ball as far as he's concerned
with this. One,
Chris, they were dealt, a horrible hand, they were,
I know that to they could with it right? And I think if anything,
they got a little bit overly intoxicated with their success
and getting a six game suspension and maybe they
didn't think through the idea.
You know what, maybe they think subjectively he doesn't deserve
to play. Maybe maybe you're right, they have a federal
obligation under statutes crafted by Congress years ago.
That govern this relationship to represent the interests of
all players when they're being potentially disciplined by the
NFL. But you know what? Every defense, lawyer believes in his
client, right? And, and DeShaun Watson did it.
Judge Robinson, found, he
did it non violent sexual assault of at least four
individuals, the four that were presented to her. He did it.
And,
you know, the union has done a good job of making chicken
salad, but the reality is
the chicken salad is going to is going to turn quickly back
into what it originally was. Once Peter Harvey issues, his
ruling that that's that's it plain and simple. And now we
Wait, we talked about it, yesterday, I expect
the decision at some point. This week. There's been a question
of whether or not the
union wants to have a hearing
on appeal. It doesn't matter. There's no new evidence.
It's just a way to talk to him.
Try to reason with him and I know Jeffrey Kessler. Probably
thinks he could maybe maybe try to to, you know, pull a Jedi
mind trick on him. It's just not going to work. Peter
Harvey's going to do
what he thinks the league wants him to do.
It's that simple. It
is and it's not even
cynical. It's obviously
going to do what the league wants him to do because he
values. Has that relationship. Look at his bio and his Law
Firm. The NFL relationship is very, very high up in his
recitation things he's done. It's right, it's right after
former New Jersey attorney general, right works for
the NFL with the NFL, whatever, whatever. The specific
language,