"Should have put this to bed a long time ago" - NFL analyst laments the time frame of Deshaun Watson choosing to settle 20 sexual assault lawsuits

Deshaun Watson finally got a legal reprieve when he settled 20 of his 24 civil cases. The Cleveland Browns quarterback has been accused of a range of sex crimes, including harassment and assault. According to Chris Russo, these settlements aren't necessarily good news for Watson.

Russo appeared on ESPN's First Take and believes that the optics of settling these cases after so long, particularly after signing a huge contract, makes him look worse from here on out.

Here's how he put it:

"He should have put this to bed from a business decision standpoint a long time ago and obviously now looks worse because he went on and on forever about how he didn't do anything wrong."

He continued:

"Well, now we're obviously gonna say 'A, we don't believe you didn't do anything wrong, there are 24 women and B, well if you didn't do anything wrong, why did you go out and settle them?"

An interesting perspective on the ongoing and ever-shifting landscape that is Watson's legal situation.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson in training

Deshaun Watson is not off the hook yet

Interestingly, his settlements do not signal the end of this saga by a long-shot. The prosecution's attorney, Tony Buzbee, said that Ashley Solis wants her story to be told.

Buzbee said:

"Ashley Solis is one of the heroes of this story. Her case has not settled and thus her story and that of the other three brave women will continue."

He continued:

"Without Solis' courage and willingness to come forward, the NFL wouldn't currently be contemplating discipline; there would be no examination of how teams might knowingly or unknowingly enable certain behavior; sports teams wouldn't be reviewing their personnel screening processes; and this important story wouldn't have dominated the sports headlines for more than a year."

The under-fire quarterback has himself apologized for his actions and the impact it has had on different sectors of the community:

"I do understand that I do have regrets as far as the impact that [it's had] on the community and people outside of just myself. And that includes my family. That includes this organization. That includes my teammates in this locker room that have to answer to these questions. That includes the fan base of the Cleveland Browns. That includes males, females, everyone across the, the world. That's one thing I do regret is the impact that it's triggered on so many people. It's tough to have to deal with."

This will likely drag on throughout the summer and at this point, nothing is off the table. The legal ramifications of the final four accusers' cases are not yet known and the NFL's investigation has not yet concluded.

It will be interesting to see what the NFL chooses to do with the quarterback and the explanation for any suspension they hand down.

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