The Good Men Project

The Troubling Brotherhood That Binds Deshaun Watson and Trevor Bauer

Michael Kasdan

Abusers support abusers. Men accused of sexual assault, they band together. They have each other’s backs. They protect each other. We know this. It’s a big part of how and why powerful institutional systems of oppression sustain.

But it’s truly rare to see it expressed as clearly and publicly as we did this past week when MLB’s accused sexual abuser, Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, tweeted these words of encouragement and support to the NFL’s accused sexual abuser, superstar QB newly of the Cleveland Browns (né Houston Texans) Deshaun Watson:

After winning the Cy Young Award and signing a $100m mega-contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Trevor Bauer ended up sitting out most of last season on “administrative leave,” after allegations surfaced relating to sexual assault. Although criminal charges are not being pursued, he remains on administrative leave to begin the 2022 season, as MLB continues its investigation and contemplates a possible suspension under its domestic violence and sexual assault policy.

I’ve seen enough to know that many sports fans and surface-level followers of this saga reading headlines like the LA Times headline of February 8, 2022 stating “Trevor Bauer will not face charges for alleged sexual assault,” and jump to the immediate conclusion that this means he did nothing wrong and that everything is A-OK. The messy reality of sexual assault and harassment cases makes this far more complicated.

If you want to understand what’s going on here, it’s important to understand the facts of what happened, though the details are graphic and uncomfortable to talk about and remain disputed by the parties. At the time of his original placement on leave, his accuser had obtained a temporary restraining order against Bauer. The woman alleged that her encounters with Bauer, which started after she contacted him on Instagram, were initially consensual, but that changed: she alleged that “I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next. I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.” Her testimony and the evidence she presented included graphic details of physical harm, including bruises and a concussion. She alleged that she was assaulted and that Bauer had sex with her while she was unconscious. Bauer, through a statement released by his counsel, alleged that the encounter was “wholly consensual.” In a later statement, Bauer alleged that “while we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described simply did not occur.”

The restraining order was lifted in August, 2021 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman after a Hearing on the matter, at which the woman testified and Bauer did not, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Judge Gould-Saltman ruled that she was dissolving the restraining order. She found that, though it was “at most tenuous” and “a close call,” the parties were “in a dating relationship” (a requirement for obtaining a permanent restraining order). However, the Judge went on to lift the restraining order, finding that “[t]he fear that he (Bauer) might do something to her does not have factual basis” and “there is no supportable evidence that [Bauer] is likely to cause [her] any harm or even have contact with [her]. The Judge also found that text messages that the woman had sent to Bauer before the encounter stating that she wanted to be “choked out” and “wanted all the pain” amounted to consent to what had happened. Judge Gould-Saltman acknowledged that the woman’s injuries as shown in the photographs were “terrible,” and noted that if she had “set limits” and Bauer had exceeded them, her ruling might have been different: “The respondent did not exceed the limits the petitioner set.”

In February, 2022, the LA County District Attorney announced that, following a five-month long police investigation, Bauer will not be facing criminal charges, having determined there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bauer had committed a crime.

Men accused of sexual assault, they band together. They have each other’s backs. They protect each other. We know this. It’s a big part of how and why powerful institutional systems of oppression sustain.

Bauer, usually quite outspoken and provocative on social media (as part of his brand), had a long hiatus from social media during much of this time period. After the District Attorney declined to charge him criminally, he released a seven minute video called “The Truth,” in which he underscored that he had engaged in two nights of rough but consensual sex.

Earlier this week Bauer took the occasion of Watson’s trade and newfound fortune to make a big splash on Twitter.

As commentator Bradford William Davis noted, “It’s important to understand he knows exactly what he’s doing.”

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After starring at Clemson and leading them to a National Championship, Deshaun Watson was drafted by the Houston Texans and became an absolute star. He is one of the most electric young quarterbacks in the NFL, a true franchise QB.

But in March of 2021, a 28-year-old licensed massage therapist, Ashley Solis, filed a lawsuit against Watson, alleging that Watson engaged in sexual misconduct during a March 2020 massage appointment at her home. Over the following weeks, similar allegations from different massage therapists in different locations and lawsuits accusing Watson of sexual misconduct piled up. Throughout, Watson has denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney has said any sexual acts that happened during massage appointments were consensual.

These stories don’t seem to be affecting the NFL’s popularity, or even stay in our insane modern news cycle long enough to cause much of an optics problem. I’m not sure what that says about our big picture – about us as a society – but I don’t think its good.

For his part, Watson, has not played in an NFL game since the final week of the 2020 regular season. Even before these allegations emerged, Watson was unhappy with the Texans and their front office. Once this all began, that dispute took a back-seat. The NFL opened an investigation but did not punish or suspend Watson, in part because he had not been criminally charged.

Almost a year later, earlier this month a grand jury declined to charge him criminally. Indeed, criminal charges in sexual misconduct and sexual assault cases are rare.

According to Deborah Tuerkheimer, a law professor at Northwestern University and former prosecutor, “It’s very unusual for allegations to result in criminal charges, much less a criminal conviction, and this will be yet another instance of that.”

In a statement after the grand jury declined to indict Watson, an N.F.L. spokesperson said that the matter “remains under review of the personal conduct policy.”

The 22 civil cases brought by the women remain ongoing. Indeed, on the same day that the grand jury declined to initiate criminal charges, across town, Watson sat for deposition in certain of these cases, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declining to answer questions during two civil depositions.

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This past week, all of that took a back-seat when the Texans announced that they had traded Watson (for a massive haul of draft picks) to the Cleveland Browns, who then signed him to $230m (!) contract, which is the largest guaranteed contract in the history of the National Football League.

When I see headlines and quotes from NFL talking heads explaining the Brown’s deal as showing that the “Browns were desperate at QB”? All I can think of, is well, we are desperate for humanity.

As Brandon Kiley aptly and painfully summarized, “In the end, Deshaun Watson got a paid year off, got an $80M raise and had his entire contract fully guaranteed while hand picking the team of his choice after being accused of sexual harassment by more than two dozen women. So, there’s that.”

Cancel culture, amirite?!

Deshaun Watson is certainly an extremely talented football player. Acquiring Watson reportedly improved Cleveland Browns odds of making the Super Bowl by a factor of two. There is plenty of money to be made.

But when I see headlines and quotes from NFL talking heads explaining the Brown’s deal as showing that the “Browns were desperate at QB”? All I can think of, is well, we are desperate for humanity.

For the NFL, it’s yet another “black eye” and “bad look” in a long string of black eyes and bad looks.

Another bad story in a continuing slew of bad stories that send a loud-and-clear misogynistic message. Seeing sports teams repeatedly do the cost-benefit math on on-the-field performance vs. what kind of men they want to represent their brand to the world, and repeatedly value on-the-field talent over that bigger picture is incredibly disheartening.

Yes, MLB baseball teams are in the business of winning baseball games and NFL teams are in the business of winning football games, but – big picture –  they are also in the business of selling themselves to their fan bases. As Nancy Armour pointed out in USA Today, NFL owners and fans were once again quick to abandon their values in pursuit of the shiny new QB toy in Deshaun Watson:

Massive as the price tag for Deshaun Watson is, he’s going to cost the Cleveland Browns a lot more. Their integrity, for starters. Their credibility, too.

It would be remiss to not point out, however, that these stories don’t seem to be affecting the NFL’s popularity, or even stay in our insane modern news cycle long enough to cause much of an optics problem.

I’m not sure what that says about our big picture – about us as a society – but I don’t think its good.

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Eight years ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Checking Athlete’s Privilege,” that explored the effects of the above-the-law entitlement that we repeatedly arm talented athletes with in our society:

If we can’t break this negative culture that heaps privilege on athletes from a young age, if we can’t root out the adult and institutional enablers from the beginning, then by the time they get to college and the pros, where monied interests of massive proportions rule, it is far too late to do anything about it. Because by then we have raised an entire class of citizens that are held above the law, that receive an inferior education, that never learned personal responsibility or accountability.

We hold them up as our idols. And then we act surprised when it all comes crashing down.

That rings more true than ever to me today.

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Photo Credit: ShutterStock

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