DeShaun Watson has shown a lack of remorse and should have been suspended by the NFL for at least a year, according to the president of anti-sexual assault organisation RAINN.
Scott Berkowitz spoke to Stats Perform as Watson prepares to make his Cleveland Browns debut.
Watson was handed an 11-game suspension and a $5million fine following sexual assault and misconduct allegations. The 27-year-old has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and is facing no criminal charges.
The ban has meant the star quarterback has yet to debut for the Browns after his March trade from the Houston Texans, which was followed by a lucrative new contract in Cleveland.
The NFL had initially hit Watson with a six-game ban before the punishment was extended. Berkowitz was happy to see that decision taken but says there is still work to be done.
"There's no length of suspension that would make up for the damage that he did to all those women. We initially advocated for a year suspension, which I think would have been appropriate," Berkowitz told Stats Perform.
"But 11's a whole lot better than six. So, it is what it is, and he'll be back on the field. And hopefully, with some different behaviour going forward.
"It [Watson's return] was bound to come eventually. But I certainly wished this suspension had been a little longer.
"But I just appreciate that the NFL added to the initial recommendation, at least, and made it longer than it initially looked like it was going to be."
Berkowitz said he can appreciate the need for second chances, but he claims Watson has not truly accepted any wrongdoing.
Watson has settled 23 of the 24 lawsuits against him.
"I understand second chances, I think that is something as a society we need to offer folks. But usually, there's a requirement that there's remorse and that they make things better," Berkowitz said.
"I think in this case, the day the suspension was announced, I recall he first put out a quote that had been written by the team that said the right things and then he immediately followed that up with what he really thought, which is that he doesn't think he did anything wrong.
"I don't know how you talk about forgiveness to someone who doesn't feel any remorse."
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said on August 1 that "Deshaun is remorseful that this situation has caused much heartache to many and he will continue the work needed to show who he is on and off the field".
In a remarkable coincidence, Watson – who has a fully guaranteed $230million five-year deal with Cleveland – is set to make his Browns bow against the Texans on Sunday.
During five years in Houston (the last of which in the 2021 season Watson did not make a single appearance), he twice helped the Texans to the playoffs and was a three-time Pro-Bowler.
Berkowitz does not expect Watson to receive an overly enthusiastic reaction from the home crowd.
"I suspect it won't be a hero's greeting, or I hope it won't. You never know when a star comes back to their hometown," Berkowitz said.
"But, you know, I hope that the reaction takes into account the terrible things he's done. It's hard to be enthusiastic for rooting for a guy who's done the things that he was accused of doing."
However, Berkowitz did acknowledge the reception from Browns fans moving forward will likely depend on Watson's performances on the field.
"I'd like it to be taken into account, his actions, but I'm realistic, that's once he gets going if he plays well, that the memory of that, unfortunately, is going to fade pretty quickly," he said.
"Most fans of most teams have learned to put personalities aside and put that behaviour aside, unfortunately, and, once they're playing well, they start cheering for the guy.
"And we're all guilty of that. So, there's always that tension, when your team is putting up people who you need to win but you don't feel comfortable rooting for personally."
Cowboys owner Jones says quarterback Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones implied that quarterback Dak Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve, meaning he would miss a minimum of four games.
The Cowboys announced Monday that Prescott would be side-lined with an injured hamstring, but a decision on if he would go on IR had not yet been made.
Speaking on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones indicated the injury was worse than initially feared.
"It's likely we'll IR him," Jones said. "We'll see how his rehab goes."
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
Mahomes' 'scary' ankle injury 'not too bad'
Patrick Mahomes assured the ankle injury he sustained during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is “not too bad” despite hailing the incident as “scary”.
The quarterback led the Chiefs to their 14th straight win with 34 of his 44 passes completed for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Bucs took them to overtime but the AFC West leaders prevailed to remain unbeaten following a 30-24 victory on Monday.
Mahomes had hobbled off with assistance at one point during the game, leading to concern ahead of the Chiefs' next game against the Denver Broncos, but he has provided some reassurance.
"[The injury was] definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it's the same ankle I rolled last week, so it scared me a little bit,” he said.
“But once I took my breath and calmed down a little bit, it ended up being not too bad. We were able to go in there at the reset and go back on the football team."
It means it is likely Mahomes will return next week despite the reoccurrence of the injury on the same ankle, with head coach Andy Reid marvelling at the 29-year-old's resilience.
"I wasn't sure exactly where he was going to be with it. He might have the loosest ankles in America. It's ridiculous how he can come back from those things,” he said.
The victory also marked DeAndre Hopkins’ first home game as a Chief, as he finished with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
"[Hopkins] is so good at winning one-on-one, so to be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations - he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows. You give him a chance down the field and he makes a play,” Mahomes said.
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
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