I guess we'll see but from what I read he told a Texans staffer he was being threatened by a person who gave him a massage so the staffer told him in the future he should use a NDA and provided a boiler plate copy. I'd venture to say that isn't uncommon for NFL players.
It may not be uncommon, but how many teams get sued for enabling a player/employee who was also sued by 24 different claimants? Especially since Watson told the guy why she was threatening him. They should have either told Watson he's on his own(this would never happen and quite frankly shouldn't) or referred him to legal counsel. Instead of slipping a blank non-disclosure into his locker to use at his leisure. It's my understanding that case was not the only time he used that provided non-disclosure, rather it became part of his massage process.
The existence of the lawsuit vs. the Texans isnt proof of anything. Buzbee could be just playing the game many people do. The overwhelming majority of civil suits are settled because defending them isn't cost effective. He has little to lose by bringing a billionaire into the mix. As far as the Texans go, NDAs are perfectly legal and very common in business. IF the Texans knew he was committing a crime and Buzbee can prove it then I guess there is some culpability. But NDAs are super common. The existence of one isn't that alarming to me.
NDAs are used by a varsity of celebrities and most of the time its for reasons not related to improper actions or behavior. Of course most of the time you are hearing about them in relation to out of court settlements which has in turn given NDAs a bad look.
I would disagree with this point... the Texans (and by proxy the NFL) have much deeper pockets than Buzbee or his clients. They will be able to put up the best defense money can buy. I don't think it's posturing, either... the four women weren't satisfied with payout - they want the day in court. It will get much worse for QB26 before it gets better.
It isn't the existence, it's the reasoning behind it being introduced. When they were told he was being threatened, he should have been sent to legal, not given a blank NDA to use at his leisure. They were aiding him, if found culpable and since he has settled 20 of 24 suits, culpability has been established.
As far as the NDA goes, Watson may have told them anything relative to what the potential accuser was threatening to do, and for what reason. Maybe he told them the massues was snooping around his personal effects and when confronted claimed she would tell everyone he was a Justin Bieber fan. Could have told them any number of reasons the massage therapist was threatening him. Like many have said, it isn't uncommon for celebrities to have an NDA as a deterrent to reckless and meritless charges. It'll take more than that to hold the Texans accountable IMO.
Trial, err....Inquisition, err... Hearing starts today for Watson punishment from the league. I am hoping this vague report doesn't mean he won't be there in person. I can't imagine that would be the case. It states he will be represented by his trial lawyer, as well as the NFLPA counsel, but I hope that is an afterthought to him actually being there as well. Maybe we will have some closure as to what to expect out of the 2022 season by the end of the week at least. OR..at least a start to the end. I know the appeal process will follow, but, that process shouldn't take long.
All it takes is a viable threat to make them weigh their options between attorney fees and settling cases. You could be right, but this is a smoking gun with the evidence present of the team giving him outlets for his behavior. The 20 settled cases give it merit. I think the settlements will come swifter than Watson's did. I think the Texans lawyer will negotiate for Buzbee to provide a complete list of expectations and it will be settled before too many more cases are even filed...with, you guessed it, NDAs invoked.
This to me shows the Browns are unwilling to do what is best for the team in 2022. Regardless of how you feel about Baker Mayfield, it would be hard to argue there is a better option than him if Watson is suspended for the year. It sounds like the reason he isn't an option is because the Browns don't want to admit they may be wrong. If he would be willing to mend fences if they reached out, then they need to reach out and show it is him and not them... At this point, I am ready to move on from Baker if there is a better option. I don't see a better option. If anyone else does, please feel free to make your argument.
Now they are talking about adding 6 more cases against Watson. The league should have blocked any trades from happening by putting him on the commissioner’s exempt list while he was still on Houston’s roster. I think the decision to not do that gave the teams trying to obtain him a false sense of security.
I think there remains a possibility of a locker room element that we are not completely aware of. There has been reporting that both Carolina and Seattle have made an effort to research Baker outside of the white lines (leads toward a concern in that regard).
Yeah, hindsight is 20/20 but I agree. The Texans did the right thing by taking him out of the element during the season while all of this was going on. They were ardent about not trading him, so it was pretty evident this was about his legal issues and not his request for trade. The Texans did the league a favor when they acted...Thus the league failed again in doing what should have been done in the first place. AT THAT TIME, there were criminal allegations pending, not just civil. It would have saved me a lot of headaches. Do we know for sure a player can't be traded while on the exempt list?
If a player is on the exempt list he might be tradable but what team in their right mind would trade for an exempt list player?
