Harris County grand jury declines to charge Deshaun Watson with sexual abuse.
The biggest hurdle to the Houston Texans' granting Deshaun Watson his wish to be traded to another NFL city was cleared on Friday afternoon, when a Harris County grand jury returned a"no bill" decision on nine criminal complaints presented against the Texans quarterback:
Additionally, the criminal charges were the most ominous threat to his availability, as the worst case scenario would have involved jail time. The criminal proceedings are finished now, and the remaining hurdles are the 22 civil lawsuits filed by plaintiffs represented by Tony Buzbee, and the potential punishment from the NFL, i.e. a yet to be determined suspension.
It remains to be seen how or if today's news on Watson not facing criminal charges affects the civil cases. Watson was reportedly ready to settle all 22 cases back in November at the trade deadline when the Miami Dolphins had a trade offer lined up contingent on Watson's settling those cases. As it turns out, only 18 of the 22 were willing to settle, so the trade crumbled. Now, it's fair to wonder what the civil plaintiff accusers are thinking.
In a statement on Deshaun Watson, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league has "been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy."“We are delighted that the grand jury has looked at the matter thoroughly and reached the same conclusion we did. Deshaun Watson did not commit any crimes and is not guilty of any offenses.
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