The NFL has been under intense scrutiny the last several years.
One controversy after another has engulfed the league.
But one star NFL quarterback caught up in a sex scandal just got some stunning news.
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been anxiously awaiting the outcome of criminal charges against him.
Watson was accused by 22 different masseuses of inappropriately exposing himself during massage sessions.
And Watson can breathe a sigh of relief after a grand jury found that there was not enough evidence for the case to proceed.
From NFL.com:
“A Harris County (Texas) grand jury did not find enough evidence to charge Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson following allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from massage therapy sessions…Watson, 26, is also facing 22 civil lawsuits. Friday’s hearing comes less than one year from the filing of the first two lawsuits for indecent conduct against Watson.”
Dane Schiller, spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said in a statement:
“After a Harris County grand jury was presented all the evidence and had the opportunity to hear from all witnesses, grand jurors declined to indict Deshaun Watson…Grand jury proceedings are secret by law, so no information related to their inquiry may be disclosed.”
Prior to the allegations, Watson demanded a trade from the Texans after feeling betrayed by team management.
Watson was not consulted on the hiring of new then-new general manager Nick Caserio, but he claimed the team promised him that he would be included in the process.
Trade talks regarding Watson were put on pause after the sex scandal broke, which meant Watson sat out the entire 2021-2022 season.
With the criminal charges behind Watson, he is likely to be traded soon.
After the grand jury’s decision, Watson said:
“It’s definitely a very emotional moment for me…I thank everyone that was a part of this of seeing and hearing both sides, and that’s what my point and my team wanted to do is have a fair slate of us telling our side of the story and letting the conclusion come down to what happened today…Going to keep fighting to rebuild my name and rebuild my appearance in the community. We’re going to continue on the legal side off the field handle what we need to handle, but also ready to get back on the field.”
Watson still faces the civil lawsuits, which will likely be settled out of court in order to put the entire saga behind him.
At first, Watson vehemently denied the allegations and said he would fight them, but that changed after multiple women came forward.
Recently, a settlement offer of $100,000 to one of the accusers leaked.
Watson signed a four-year, $160 million contract, so paying for the cases to go away won’t be a roadblock for the quarterback.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is assuredly resting easy now that one of his young marquee stars is no longer facing the possibility of criminal conviction and jail time.