Fat Bib Fortuna said:

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IMHO, Nike cutting ties is real linchpin move that sends Watson south from here on out. Imagine the investigative team they can assemble and turn loose to investigate one of their athletes. If they thought they should give him the benefit of the doubt - and with the extreme racial tensions existing everywhere - they undoubtedly would have.

But the out-and-out "bye-bye" means they dug into it, realized there's plenty of fire behind the smoke, and wanted to disassociate ASAP.

As others have said, when you go from saying nothing happened at all to "well yes, we did some sexing but it was totally consensual", it's all over but the crying. Despite all the wink wink, nod nod stuff we know exists at certain massage parlors and with buying massages off the Internet, you're still taking someone's legit profession and deciding you get to dictate it becoming a sexual encounter. The ritualistic behavior that we get from story after story from the women complaining is the sure sign of an addict, and someone who is desiring power over other people in interactions. He should check into rehab ala Tiger and look like he's trying to get better and admitting this is a problem, will probably make it a lot easier on himself in the long run.

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Did Nike cut ties? I thought they just "suspended" the relationship?

I agree with your premise - with most things, follow the market/money to figure out what's really going on.

I doubt Nike did any investigation. Watson getting all the bad press is all the reason they need

Qb1 is showing how dirty the massage industry is. Don't know exactly what is happy ending success rate is, but having 120-150 massages a year, only 15% saying no.

OCEN99 said:

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We need to get together and craft the job listing for the Chron hiring his replacement.

necessary requirements

• Be prepared to write about off-the-field embarassments 95% of the time
• Must enjoy drinking Kool-Aid when team wins a game
• Try not to notice the utter lack of draft picks
• Ignore fact that CEO couldn't spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the A.

Follow the approved script following a loss.

Monday, be critical of the loss
Tuesday, be negative
Wednesday, be neutral
Thursday, be positive of the future
Friday, going all the way. Superbowl bound!!!
Sunday, we suck again

fair to wonder if all this started at Clemson

W said:

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fair to wonder if all this started at Clemson

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There were some tweets that he deleted early in this process that made it sound (to me) that it did.

Would he have had this kind of money at Clemson?

I can't imagine he could afford the IG models. But the cheap Bob Kraft level Asian parlor rub and tug? Sure.

chjoak said:

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W said:

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fair to wonder if all this started at Clemson

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There were some tweets that he deleted early in this process that made it sound (to me) that it did.

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He deleted tweets about a massage in HIGH SCHOOL.!

Watson removed from the teams intro on their in house TV show.

Watson Removed from In House TV Show

redag06 said:

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chjoak said:

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W said:

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fair to wonder if all this started at Clemson

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There were some tweets that he deleted early in this process that made it sound (to me) that it did.

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He deleted tweets about a massage in HIGH SCHOOL.!

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details? links?

Not to go too crazy Dr. Phil speculative, but part of me wonders if some m i l f from the 'hood gave him a massage that went sexual when he was in HS. And now he's got this fetish.

The most simple answer is that he's a football star that has banged a ton of women and never got called on his ***** Just wondering if there is more since a lot of sexual predators have some sort of freak in their history. And I'm not trying to excuse it; just looking for the start of such a weirdly bold kink

AustinCountyAg said:

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redag06 said:

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chjoak said:

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W said:

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fair to wonder if all this started at Clemson

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There were some tweets that he deleted early in this process that made it sound (to me) that it did.

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He deleted tweets about a massage in HIGH SCHOOL.!

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details? links?

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Some folks screenshot it before he deleted it.

Is any NFL team more cursed than the Texans at this point? I was shocked they traded up to draft Watson after going out of my way to watch him in college and Clemson of all teams. Ugh. It's just sad and depressing to think about. Maybe they will manage to somehow find a legit starting QB the next few years.

Is it that the Texans organization has been "cursed" with incompetent management?

Ramrod said:

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cc10106 said:

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Is any NFL team more cursed than the Texans at this point? I was shocked they traded up to draft Watson after going out of my way to watch him in college and Clemson of all teams. Ugh. It's just sad and depressing to think about. Maybe they will manage to somehow find a legit starting QB the next few years.

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There's a difference between being cursed and being led by incompetent management.

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I don't agree this Watson stuff is due to "incompetent management". But yes, most every football decision has been poor.

Ramrod said:

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cc10106 said:

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Is any NFL team more cursed than the Texans at this point? I was shocked they traded up to draft Watson after going out of my way to watch him in college and Clemson of all teams. Ugh. It's just sad and depressing to think about. Maybe they will manage to somehow find a legit starting QB the next few years.

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There's a difference between being cursed and being led by incompetent management.

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We need the little girl "why not both" gif for this.

5 women have talked to the Houston Police now.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/04/14/five-women-suing-deshaun-watson-have-spoken-to-police/

I'm curious to see where the criminal investigations go. I actually think Watson's fame may work against him to some degree. I don't know which plaintiffs have filed police reports, but assuming it's the plaintiffs who have alleged that he exposed himself and brushed their hands with his junk, I highly doubt the DA would typically pursue charges based on simply that. For one, as I understand it, it's a misdemeanor. Two, barring a video surfacing, it will be a classic he said/she said. It will be extremely difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. However, because of the publicity, it would not surprise me if the DA's office decides to pursue it, just so it can avoid the appearance of favorable treatment for a rich athlete. Should be interesting.

I mentioned it a while back but I wonder if he's fair game for the feds under sex trafficking laws. If he flew multiple women across state lines then forced sex acts on them does that fall under some sex trafficking law or statue?

Ag_07 said:

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I mentioned it a while back but I wonder if he's fair game for the feds under sex trafficking laws. If he flew multiple women across state lines then forced sex acts on them does that fall under some sex trafficking law or statue?

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I do not practice criminal law, much less federal criminal law, so I can't opine on that. But I will say, it will first depend on whether the ones who travelled across state lines are also the ones alleging forcible acts (which, as I understand it, is only 2 or 3 of the 22). I haven't looked into it close enough to know.

Edit-I will add one more point. Federal charges would face the same burden of proof difficulties as the state ones. A "he said-she said" over what happened with no way to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, what occurred. Federal prosecutors have extremely high conviction rates. They typically don't bring charges unless they are very confident they can get a conviction.

CoachRTM said:

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JCA1 said:

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I'm curious to see where the criminal investigations go. I actually think Watson's fame may work against him to some degree. I don't know which plaintiffs have filed police reports, but assuming it's the plaintiffs who have alleged that he exposed himself and brushed their hands with his junk, I highly doubt the DA would typically pursue charges based on simply that. For one, as I understand it, it's a misdemeanor. Two, barring a video surfacing, it will be a classic he said/she said. It will be extremely difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. However, because of the publicity, it would not surprise me if the DA's office decides to pursue it, just so it can avoid the appearance of favorable treatment for a rich athlete. Should be interesting.

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While I understand what you're saying, there's a big difference between :

1. He said VS she said

and

1. He said VS she, she she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, and she said.

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That will be another interesting issue. If criminal charges are pursued, does the court allow in testimony from other accusers, particularly if they have not filed police reports? Quite frankly, will probably be the most important ruling of the case.

third coast.. said:

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When would yall expect the NFL to come out and do/say something on this issue?

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Probably waiting to hear what the police do. That will determine how far they need to take it.

Miami appears to be in a position after their trades for a Watson trade after this years draft. Getting future high picks from SF puts them in the strongest post draft position to offer picks and possibly some players they just drafted.

They are the only team that hasn't addressed the QB position yet. They could try going with Tua plus a new WR and RB they get with picks 6 and 18, but I could see them getting Watson post draft even with a 6-8 game suspension for some combo of players and picks. Wouldn't have to include Tua in that case.

Unless things wrap up very quickly it looks like Watson will be a suspended Texan QB or a post draft Suspended Fins QB this year.

LincolnBorglum79 said:

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Miami appears to be in a position after their trades for a Watson trade after this years draft. Getting future high picks from SF puts them in the strongest post draft position to offer picks and possibly some players they just drafted.

They are the only team that hasn't addressed the QB position yet. They could try going with Tua plus a new WR and RB they get with picks 6 and 18, but I could see them getting Watson post draft even with a 6-8 game suspension for some combo of players and picks. Wouldn't have to include Tua in that case.

Unless things wrap up very quickly it looks like Watson will be a suspended Texan QB or a post draft Suspended Fins QB this year.

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If it didn't happen when they were at 3... man... it's just not happening.

No team is taking on Watson with a 6-8 games suspension. Hell, the way this is trending, I think there's a good chance this becomes a Mike Vick situation before its all over.

Absolutely nobody is giving up a bunch of young cheap players, picks AND taking on Watson's contract right now given the situation. It's just took risky.

Yeah. The idea that Miami is making all these moves to trade for a guy with 22 pending sexual assault civil cases, possible criminal charges, and probable league suspension just doesn't make much sense. Miami's move was exactly what it looked like, a team that wasn't going to draft a QB trading back and getting a bushel of picks from a team that wants to draft a QB.

Now, once Watson's issues are resolved, is it possible Miami might consider trading for him? Sure. But the notion they are making these moves right now for Watson strikes me as highly unlikely and is just distraught Texans fans trying to manufacture some hope.

JCA1 said:

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Yeah. The idea that Miami is making all these moves to trade for a guy with 22 pending sexual assault civil cases, possible criminal charges, and probable league suspension just doesn't make much sense. Miami's move was exactly what it looked like, a team that wasn't going to draft a QB trading back and getting a bushel of picks from a team that wants to draft a QB.

Now, once Watson's issues are resolved, is it possible Miami might consider trading for him? Sure. But the notion they are making these moves right now for Watson strikes me as highly unlikely and is just distraught Texans fans trying to manufacture some hope.

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If you can have a time horizon beyond next season, now is potentially a great time to trade for him. You can get him well below market value and if the NFL really drops the hammer on him he misses next season. But then you have a generational talent at QB who is 26 years old and hungry to redeem his reputation and brand. And if you sucked out loud for the year he was out you get good picks in the 22 draft

pagerman @ work said:

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JCA1 said:

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Yeah. The idea that Miami is making all these moves to trade for a guy with 22 pending sexual assault civil cases, possible criminal charges, and probable league suspension just doesn't make much sense. Miami's move was exactly what it looked like, a team that wasn't going to draft a QB trading back and getting a bushel of picks from a team that wants to draft a QB.

Now, once Watson's issues are resolved, is it possible Miami might consider trading for him? Sure. But the notion they are making these moves right now for Watson strikes me as highly unlikely and is just distraught Texans fans trying to manufacture some hope.

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If you can have a time horizon beyond next season, now is potentially a great time to trade for him. You can get him well below market value and if the NFL really drops the hammer on him he misses next season. But then you have a generational talent at QB who is 26 years old and hungry to redeem his reputation and brand. And if you sucked out loud for the year he was out you get good picks in the 22 draft

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I think the big issue for other teams is you mortgage your future for a guy, and you don't know what other baggage he has besides at least 22 sexual assault cases. Say he leads your team and is playing well, and during the season there are new cases brought on him. How do you sell that to the fan base? Too much risk because nobody knows the truth, but for Watson.

I just don't think any team makes a play for Watson now unless it's proved this is a straight up conspiracy by this number of women and their attorney. If just one of these complaints is proven to be true in court; let alone 20+, then Houston will seek to terminate his contract for cause. We are still several months away from football, but the closer this gets to the season the more likely Watson finds himself on the commissioners exempt list if it hasn't been resolved. It's hard to see any good resolution for this situation.

You have to wonder what effect this will have on Watson, the dude has been humiliated publicly. He may go Tiger and fold up.