Jimmy Haslam: Browns are “comfortable” Deshaun…

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When news first emerged that the Browns had managed to persuade Deshaun Watson to join the team, my immediate reaction was that he should settle the 22 lawsuits pending against him.

One week later, Watson told reporters that it is “not my intent” to settle, and that “my intent is to continue to clear my name as much as possible, and that is what I am focused on.”

Later in the day, team owner Jimmy Haslam was asked whether the Browns are concerned that a decision by Watson to fight the cases could create a distraction for him, as it relates to football.

“That is why the decision will be made by Deshaun and by his legal team, and we are comfortable they will make the right call,” Haslam said.

The right call is to settle the cases, for multiple reasons. First, it’s entirely possible (if not likely) that the NFL will eventually place Watson on paid leave until the 22 cases have ended. (If there were only one or two, that wouldn’t happen. With 22, the league may have no choice.)

Second, the 22 cases most likely won’t be resolved with one trial. It would be 22 of them. At some point, one of those trials undoubtedly will interfere with something related to his football career.

Third, the Browns shouldn’t burden their fans with the pending litigation. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had the right idea; he wanted all 22 cases to be settled before he’d authorize a trade for Watson during the 2021 season. (Ultimately, 18 were ready to settle; four held out.) It’s time for Watson’s legal team to re-engage lawyer Tony Buzbee and get these cases resolved.

It won’t be easy. Buzbee will put his thumb on the scale. Both thumbs. And the rest of his fingers. And his elbows. And his kneecaps. That’s how it goes in civil litigation. A case’s settlement value comes from many factors. The urgency of the defendant to settle the case is definitely one of them.

Watson and his lawyers can, if they want, make a formal offer of settlement to each plaintiff under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Rejection of the offer of settlement raises the stakes for the plaintiff at trial, potentially resulting in a requirement to reimburse the defendant for litigation costs and attorneys’ fees incurred after the offer was made, if the offer is rejected.

However they do it, Watson and his representatives need to find a way to finally resolve the cases. To finally make amends. To finally have a reckoning.

On Friday, Watson said he has no regrets. He should. He repeatedly put himself in compromising situations by hiring massage therapists on social media and, per the admission of his attorney, having some of those massages become consensual sexual encounters.

That habit or trend or whatever it properly should be called set the stage for 22 different people to claim that Watson crossed the line. That should be enough for Watson to make each of them the kind of financial offer that will allow them to conclude that they have received some form of justice.

Watson was ready to do that with 18 of the plaintiffs last year. It’s time to do whatever it takes to get those 18 and the other four to accept a fair and appropriate settlement offer, and move on.