The NFL suspended Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson for six games on Monday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
The decision was rendered by independent hearing officer Sue L. Robinson in response to the NFL’s investigation of multiple women who filed civil lawsuits against Watson before he settled with all but one of them, including Ashley Solis, the first accuser to go public. The women, whom Watson hired for massages, accused the QB of sexual misconduct or sexual assault.
Watson will be eligible to return to the Browns in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 23.
As part of the decision, Watson must now receive all his massages from Browns team therapists, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Robinson’s ruling said that while Watson’s “pattern of behavior was egregious,” it was “nonviolent sexual conduct,” per Pelissero.
This decision now opens a window during which either the league