Are the NFL and the media letting QB Deshaun Watson slide?

As we all know by now, QB Deshaun Watson requested a trade out of Houston after a 4-12 record and losing talents like JJ Watt, DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

The Houston Texans are years from being a contender again, and Deshaun Watson is a superstar player in arguably the most important position in the game. Not long after his trade request, a total of 22 sexual assault/misconduct cases were filed against him, putting Deshaun Watson's future into question.

While there have been no formal charges, sentencings or punishments against Deshaun Watson yet, he has lost deals with Nike and Beats By Dre on the back of those cases. Reliant Energy and H-E-B have also made it clear that they will not work with Watson moving forward.

NFL comments on the Deshaun Watson cases

NFL statement regarding its “ongoing and active” review of allegations against #Texans QB Deshaun Watson, who remains eligible to fully participate in club activities. pic.twitter.com/u3U7ujYozO

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 27, 2021

The NFL has a poor history of handling violence and abuse against women by players. With Ray Rice in 2014, the league seemed to get out in front of the matter, but there has been nothing but inconsistency since.

For example, Chad Wheeler was released by the Seattle Seahawks for domestic assault on his spouse, but the NFL made no comments and didn't dole out punishments on Wheeler. This is even more concerning since the NFLPA formed a commission of domestic violence experts to help in such matters.

Since the commission was formed after the Ray Rice debacle, it started off strong by attending meetings and creating connections with the advocacy community. They worked with the wives of players to get insights on how to handle and deal with such acts of violence.

The study with the wives ended two years later in 2016, and the commission has met just three times since. The NFLPA did not take any of the considerations from the study into consideration, nor did it take any other ideas from members to help combat domestic violence by players.

Deborah Epstein and Susan Else have since resigned from the committee. Esptein also wrote an article detailing why she resigned (which includes everything mentioned above). Epstein is a law professor and co-director of the Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic, while Else is the former president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

Epstein called the whole thing "a fig leaf," and just a title to ease people's minds.

House of Ruth Board member Deborah Epstein, professor of law and co-director of the @GeorgetownLaw Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic, wrote in the @washingtonpost about her decision to leave the NFL Players Association’s commission on domestic violence.https://t.co/WuAJIX8FfE

— House of Ruth (@TheHouseofRuth) June 14, 2018

Instead of domestic violence, Esptein states, the league is more focused on battling player protests and making a COVID-19 season work. In the past few years alone, there have been several additional cases of domestic violence by players with little to no repercussions.

Tyreek Hill, a Super Bowl champion WR, reportedly punched his then-pregnant girlfriend in the stomach while in college, allegedly abused his son, and threatened his fiance. Due to a "lack of evidence," he missed no games.

Antonio Brown, another Super Bowl WR, faced multiple accusations of sexual assault and alleged rape in a civil suit. While some of those cases are still open, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady signed him regardless. Brown, of course, subsequently won the Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.

There is also Frank Clark (who has since had other issues that could land him in jail), Adrian Peterson (allegedly abusing his son), and Kareem Hunt (videos of him kicking a woman cost him his job at KC but not with CLE). All of these players have a history of domestic violence involving women or children and they are still in the league.

RB Joe Mixon punched a woman, breaking four bones in her face, and was still a high draft pick. WR Antonio Callaway was accused of sexual assault while attending Florida, but the issue was swept under the rug in typical college-scandal fashion.

Where does this leave Deshaun Watson?

Recent tweets may have gone unnoticed by many, but not the Around the NFL podcast (shoutout to Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, and Gregg Rosenthal). Deshaun Watson's attorney Rusty Hardin claims teams are ready to trade for Watson despite the ongoing issues.

Houston reportedly wants at least three first-round picks for the QB. The NFL essentially gave Deshaun Watson a win by not putting him on the commissioner's exemption list, since the first deposition isn't until February 2022, allowing him to play a full season. This led to the following tweets:

The #Texans are now willing to listen — and have been for some time — to trade offers for star QB Deshaun Watson, multiple sources tell me and @RapSheet. But the price is high for a player of his caliber, and should be. It’d likely take at least three first-round picks and more.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 26, 2021

Watson would've faced mandatory $50,000 fines for every day he missed. So, he saves himself money without backing off his stance that he wants out of Houston. https://t.co/sZjyyCLhyM

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 25, 2021

Look, Watson has talent on the field; that's not up for debate. But it's about time the league gets its hands dirty and cracks down on these cases.

All the talk in the media has solely focused on whether Watson will be in training camp or if he's allowed to play the whole season, with a slew of reports dealing with his trade request and possible landing spots.

"What if Deshaun Watson ends up playing for the Dolphins?" could be a discussion worth having, but it's more pertinent at this point to focus on the 22 (!!!) cases of sexual misconduct pending in the courts.

At the very least, the Houston Texans could have kept Watson off the field until his legal issues are resolved. Instead, all the women who have filed cases against the quarterback will have to deal with his name being paraded around in the media in lieu of his trade request.

These women will have to hear from and see their accused abuser on national television talking about everything but the real story. For a league that prides itself on its values, this is a gross misstep. In the #MeToo era, the NFL needs to pick itself up by its bootstraps to rectify the situation. The message they're currently putting out isn't one for the billboards.