Roger Goodell Believes Deshaun Watson Violated Conduct Policy Not Once But Four Times

NFL owners — except for Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who is suspended — met in Minnesota Tuesday to vote on the sale of the Denver Broncos.

The sale was approved by ownership. Congrats, Walton-Penner group.But that's not the big news.

While speaking with a gaggle of reporters about the Deshaun Watson decision by league disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson and the NFL's appeal of that decision, commissioner Roger Goodell said the league views Watson's violation of the NFL Conduct Policy as not one misdeed but four.

And he called those violations "predatory behavior."

"We've seen the evidence, she was very clear about the evidence, she reinforced the evidence,'' Goodell said of Robinson's work and why the league is appealing. "There were multiple violations that were egregious and it was predatory behavior.

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"Those were things we felt were very important for us to address in a way that was responsible.''

Goodell was pressed if he meant the league views Watson as having four violations of the conduct policy?

"I think that's the case," Goodell replied. "Those were the facts."

That is stunning because if appeals officer Peter Harvey, whom Goodell designated to hear the appeal, agrees with the commissioner, he would be seeing the current six-game suspension handed down by Robinson through the prism of four violations rather than one.

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To be clear, Robinson heard the facts on four of five women presented by the NFL and they alleged Watson sexually harassed and in some cases abused the Houston area massage therapists. And Robinson's decision said the four accounts she heard were believable and ruled that way.

So the NFL is seeking to increase the six-game suspension to at least a full year.

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Goodell, by the way, addressed owners on the Dolphins tampering charges and punishment. An NFL investigation suspended Ross through Oct. 17 and fined him $1.5 million; it fined limited partner Bruce Beal $500,000 and suspended him for one year and it stripped the Dolphins of a first-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024.

"Integrity of the game's critically important," Goodell said. "I think the finding was very clear on the tampering charges. While tanking clearly did not happen here, I think we all have to understand that our words and our actions have implications, can be interpreted and we have to be careful."

On the tanking charge, former Dolphins coach Brian Flores alleges in a lawsuit that Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in the 2019 season so the team could improve its draft position in 2020.

The NFL investigation cleared the Dolphins of tanking because Flores guided the Dolphins to a 5-4 record that season's final nine games but did conclude whatever Ross told Flores on the matter of a payout for losses was probably just said in a joking fashion.

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