Deshaun Watson and Why Survivors Don’t Speak Out.

Summary

The website content discusses the case of Deshaun Watson, a former Texans quarterback who signed a $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns despite 22 women accusing him of sexual assault, and explores the broader issue of why survivors often remain silent.

Abstract

The article delves into the controversial signing of Deshaun Watson by the Cleveland Browns, highlighting the serious allegations of sexual assault brought against him by 22 women, primarily massage therapists. Despite these allegations and a grand jury's decision not to indict him on criminal charges, Watson secured a record-breaking contract. The author scrutinizes the societal and judicial responses to sexual assault cases, emphasizing the challenges faced by survivors in seeking justice due to the high burden of proof in criminal cases, the tendency to discredit women's accounts, and the prevalent victim-blaming attitudes. The piece underscores the systemic issues that lead to the silencing of survivors and the perpetuation of a culture where powerful men can evade consequences for their actions.

Opinions

The author suggests that the sports world's relative silence and quick return to normalcy after the allegations against Watson is indicative of a broader societal problem of dismissing accusations against popular or talented individuals.
The article implies that the public's willingness to side with Watson over his accusers is influenced by his status as a star athlete and the misconception that the women's motives are financial gain rather than justice.
It is the author's opinion that the justice system is skewed against sexual assault survivors, with an alarmingly low conviction rate for such cases, reflecting societal biases and preconceived notions about sexual assault and victimhood.
The author expresses a belief that coercion is often overlooked as a form of assault, particularly in the context of Watson's case, where the power dynamics between a famous athlete and the women he allegedly victimized are significant.
The piece conveys a sense of resignation and lack of surprise at Watson's ability to continue his career without significant repercussions, illustrating a pattern where men in various positions of power are able to escape the consequences of their actions while their accusers suffer.

This is why so many women carry this secret with them throughout their lives.

This week, former Texans quarterback, Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns for a whopping 230 million dollar contract, all of which, is guaranteed. This is more than Patrick Mahomes. Which, if you pay any attention to football, is like the wonder kid of quarterbacks (and hasn’t been accused of sexual assault).

This comes over a year after 22 women accused him of sexual assault, and just a week after a grand jury decided not to indict him of 9 criminal charges, but, I’ll touch on that in a second.

The allegations from mostly massage therapists in the Houston area vary from Watson exposing himself to them, touching the women with his penis, or coercing women to perform oral sex on him during his appointment. According to Sports Illustrated, who conducted multiple interviews, both with women who had filed lawsuits and some who have not, found that the rumors and warnings about Deshaun Watson had been circulating through the message therapy circle for quite some time. One even said that “only 1 therapist hasn’t complained,” about the interactions with Deshaun Watson.

When the news first appeared a little over a year ago, it sent a shock wave through the sports world. But, then almost as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Replaced by news about Tom Brady, Aaron Rogers, or Kyrie Irving. Of course, Watson’s attorneys and Watson himself were adamant that all 22 women were lying, as they always do.

Almost the whole year after the accusations first surfaced, the sports world remained relatively quiet about the situation. I kept wondering, why is this? 22 women! 22 women that shared stories of coercion, inappropriate touch, and exposure. 22 women that shared stories of Watson purposefully approaching them, knowing his business would help their careers, and taking advantage of them.

So many times, have we seen stories like these get swept under the rug, either with actors, singers, directors, or comedians and we see the women suffer. As the news story died down, the harassment of the women just continued. One woman dropped her lawsuit out of “security concerns,” while others, I’m sure, were bombarded by hate comments, accusations that they were lying, and people calling them “gold-diggers.”

As I went through the comments of each news story, that’s all I saw. Some would stand with the women, while most did not. Why? Because Deshaun Watson is a good football player. Deshaun Watson is Rich and Deshaun Watson was trying to leave Houston.

Why is the automatic assumption that women wanted money? Well, because they filed civil suits! No criminal charges (in the beginning)! That must mean they want money!

No. That’s not what that means, and let me explain why.

Criminal charges face a much. much. higher burden of proof than a civil suit. Proving sexual assault or harassment is virtually impossible, as unfortunately, many women have discovered in their lives. According to the Department of Justice, only 1% (or less) of people accused of sexual assault are convicted. Not because they’re not guilty, but because of our society/justice systems' preconceived notions of sexual assault.

All so often the men are seen as “reliable.” As people with “bright futures,” it would be such a shame to ruin. Women’s sexual history is dragged through the mud, their stories are rarely believed, and, unfortunately, so many people find that “sexual assault” only counts if a gun is held to a victim's head.

Coercion has forever been overlooked. Even in the Deshaun Watson case, where the women accuse him of telling them he could ruin their careers or make them, depending on what they agreed to do.

In Deshaun Watson’s case, the grand jury that decided not to indict him is secret. But, I can only assume, that it went how many other sexual assault cases only go. I assume, the women barely got to tell their stories. I assume coercion was not considered assault. I assume a few of them saw the women as “gold diggers” just trying to ruin a man's life. Why do I assume these things? Because I’ve seen it happens so many times.

Now, as he has been awarded a new contract on a new team, I’m not shocked. I’m not shocked because “he’s a good football player” has many times outweighed what men have done to women. I’m not shocked because “she’s a gold digger” has many times swayed the narrative to blame the women. I’m not shocked. But, I wish I was.

This is why women don’t come forward. This is why so many women carry this secret with them throughout their lives, telling no one and suffering in silence. It’s not just the “good football players.” It’s the doctor's sons, swimmers, police officers, rich, young, white, old, etc., who get away with it. It’s men who get away with it and get rewarded their lives back. It’s the women who suffer.

If you would like to keep up with me and a plethora of other talented writers you can do so by signing up for a Medium Membership here.

If you enjoyed my post and would like to buy me a coffee, you can do so here.