AP sources: Decision in Watson disciplinary case to come Monday

A decision on the discipline of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson following accusations of sexual misconduct will be handed down Monday. Two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that retired judge Sue L.

A decision on the discipline of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson following accusations of sexual misconduct will be handed down Monday.

Two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that retired judge Sue L. Robinson has notified the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association that she is ready to make a decision on Watson’s disciplinary hearing. which ended a month ago. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.

Watson has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by 24 massage therapists in Texas and has settled 20 of the civil lawsuits filed against him. Four lawsuits are still pending and the lawyer representing the women said he hopes to bring them to trial next spring.

Two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal charges arising from the allegations.

Watson, who played four seasons with Houston before being traded to Cleveland in March, trained with the Browns while Robinson spent weeks trying to figure out if the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback had violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline. .

The league argued for an indefinite suspension of at least a year during a three-day hearing in Delaware last month. The union has pushed for no punishment, although a person familiar with Watson’s defense told the AP in June that a suspension was expected and the goal was to make playing Watson this season.

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

___

Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi and his work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/robmaaddi

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Rob Maaddi, Associated Press