There is a lot we do not know about the charges against Watson. We have allegations from 22 women, which sound very similar. We also have statements from 20 women claiming they never felt uncomfortable around him when they were giving him massages. I am very curious to see how the NFL handles this. Zeke got a 6 game suspension despite a very weak case against him and the allegations of only 1 woman. Even the lead investigator hired by the NFL did not think Zeke was guilty, but Goodell overruled her. Every allegation against Watson is a he said - she said. All the incidents took place in private and there are no witnesses that we know of. The worst evidence against Watson are the Instagram messages, and the stories of all 22 women are the same. He hired them on Instagram to give him a massage. In some cases flying them to Houston at h is expense. When they got there he got a little aggressive and in some cases exposed himself or tried to convince the women to have sex with him. and in others he supposedly assaulted them. In once case he allegedly forced the therapist to perform oral sex on him. All 22 women have filed civil suits. I have no idea how much money is involved.
When Zeke was accused the NFL was coming off the Ray Rice situation and I think they felt compelled to do something harsh to Elliott. That seems to have worn off a little now as the NFL's focus has shifted from
#MeToo to racial injustice. I am not going to predict anything here but I would not be shocked if Goodell gives Watson a slap on the wrist. Maybe he even tipped his cards to the Eagles a bit. But the Eagles are not going to give up even 1 first round pick for a guy who could be suspended for any length of time. Even the Eagles are not that stupid.
I will say based on what I know if the charges, something is not right here. Hiring message therapists on Instagram? Flying them to Houston at his own expense? All young women? Are they all attractive? I thought people who get massages for therapeutic reasons find a good one and call that person all the time, and it could be a man or a woman. This definitely look more like Watson was not so interested in the massage and more interesting in a happy ending.