"I find it hard to square Judge Robinson’s report" - Deshaun Watson's six-game suspension isn't sitting well with NFL analyst Mina Kimes

The Deshaun Watson saga seems to finally be coming to a close. Yesterday, Watson was issued a six-game suspension from NFL Disciplinary Officer Sue L. Robinson. Neither the league, Deshaun Watson, nor the NFLPA plan to appeal the decision. So it seems that after those six games, the long and painful saga is headed for completion.

However, Deshaun Watson's punishment has not sat well with many. Many fans now question whether the NFL is truly committed to issues such as sexual assault.

It's not just fans that are dissatisfied either. NFL analyst Mina Kimes is among several in the media to speak up. Kimes said this in a damning indictment of Robinson's decision:

"It seemed low given the volume. Obviously they didn't consider all of the cases, just four of them... I wanted to read the report. Having read it, and I encourage everyone watching to go look at it, I find her ruling to be utterly incoherent and confusing, frankly."

She went on to say that the ruling detailed the NFL's accusations against the quarterback, which were harrowing in detail. Robinson's ruling was that the NFL proved their case:

"Essentially, the NFL proved its case that Watson did engage in unwanted touching, that he knew it was unwanted, that the NFL met the burden of a civil suit to prove sexual assault took place."

The ruling also noted that the quarterback's behavior was predatory. The suspension even added a bizarre clause. It stated that Deshaun Watson can only get massage therapy from approved, in-house therapists going forward.

Kimes cited the CDC's definition of sexual violence as any sexual encounter in which consent is not freely given. Despite that, Robinson said there was a nonviolent nature to what happened, hence the low number of missed games.

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Why six games for Deshaun Watson makes no sense

Cleveland Browns Training Camp

The six-game suspension is a standard punishment for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The personal conduct policy took several months of collaborative work and came into action in 2014.

The policy states that:

"Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL. This includes owners, coaches, players... Conduct by anyone in the league that is illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL. We must endeavor at all times to be people of high character; we must show respect for others inside and outside our workplace; and we must strive to conduct ourselves in ways that favorably reflect on ourselves, our teams, the communities we represent, and the NFL."

So it is hardly surprising that they reached the decision that Deshaun Watson had violated the policy. However, it feels like the policy doesn't take into account the volume of the accusations in this case.

A six-game suspension would almost certainly have been delivered to Deshaun Watson for just one accusation. That seems to be the case with other suspensions for similar conduct on a much smaller scale. So it seems to many that Watson has escaped adequate punishment for the scale of his misconduct.

Though this is a major simplification of a complicated matter, if one violation equals six games, Deshuan Watson could have been suspended for over 100 games. An indefinite suspension is something many called for, but didn't really expect. A year seemed like the punishment the majority of the NFL world was expecting.

The main issue with the suspension length is that it sends a terrible message to the wider world. How can the NFL attempt to appear pro-women if they accept a suspension as light as this?

Whatever way you look at it, six games seems egregiously low for someone who was labeled by the arbitrator as a predator.

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