Roger Goodell Gives First Public Statement About Deshaun Watson Allegations

There was no hiding from the situation.

As commissioner Roger Goodell took part in ESPN’s pre-NFL draft broadcast Thursday night, he publicly addressed the Deshaun Watson allegations for the first time.

“We take that very seriously, those are very concerning to us,” Goodell said of the 22 civil lawsuits currently filed, all accusing the Houston Texans quarterback of disturbing behavior and sexual misconduct.

“We’re obviously following that and looking at that ourselves, independently,” Goodell said when asked by ESPN’s Mike Greenberg where things stood with the league’s investigation. “There are important steps that we will be taking as part of our personal conduct policy. When we get to that point, we will certainly make a decision.”

Prior to the allegations, Watson was one of the hottest commodities on the NFL trade market, trying to force his way out of Houston in a trade. Naturally, a lot of teams were interested back then, too.

We’ll see how this plays out.