Por Renan Filho · 2026-10-02**Lead**
During the October 1, 2026, Thursday Night Football broadcast on Amazon Prime Video, veteran announcer Al Michaels provoked immediate controversy by glossing over the more than two dozen civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and sexual misconduct filed against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. While discussing a play during the Browns’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Michaels referred to the lawsuits as a “thing” that Watson had “gone through,” using language that critics and media analysts said minimized the gravity of the allegations. The remark, captured live on Amazon’s flagship NFL broadcast, quickly went viral on social media platforms, prompting calls for accountability from the network and raising broader questions about how sports media covers off-field player conduct.
**Context**
Deshaun Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback, has been the subject of multiple legal proceedings since March 2021, when the first civil lawsuit was filed against him in Harris County, Texas. By June 2022, at least 24 civil lawsuits had been filed by women who accused Watson of sexual assault or sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Two additional women subsequently filed lawsuits, bringing the total to 26. In 2022, Watson reached confidential settlements with 20 of the accusers, and in August 2022, he resolved three more cases. The NFL league office, after an independent investigation, suspended Watson for 11 games during the 2022 season and imposed a $5 million fine, in addition to requiring him to undergo a mandatory evaluation and treatment program. However, the league never released the full investigative report, and Watson has continued to deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that all encounters were consensual.
Al Michaels, 81, is one of the most respected voices in American sports broadcasting, with a career spanning more than five decades, including iconic calls on ABC, NBC, and now Amazon Prime Video. His comment during the broadcast came as the camera showed Watson on the sideline. “You know, he’s been through a lot, a lot of that thing, and he just keeps playing,” Michaels said. The phrasing was immediately flagged by viewers and media monitors. The remark was especially jarring given that Amazon Prime Video had previously promoted a pregame interview with Watson that focused on his approach to the game, deliberately avoiding any discussion of the lawsuits. The network has not yet issued a formal statement regarding Michaels’s comment, but internal sources told multiple sports outlets that the producer’s booth was aware of the remark in real time and chose not to address it on air.
**Analise**
The incident highlights a persistent tension in sports media: the desire to maintain viewer engagement versus the responsibility to report on serious allegations. By reducing 24 sexual misconduct lawsuits to a vague “thing,” Michaels effectively erased the experiences of two dozen women who came forward, many of whom provided detailed accounts under oath. This is not an isolated moment; similar dismissive language has been used by broadcasters across the NFL, NBA, and MLB when discussing players involved in legal controversies. Sports journalism scholars note that such framing reinforces a troubling pattern in which athletes are given the benefit of the doubt for “distractions” while the human toll of the allegations is downplayed.
Furthermore, the lack of editorial intervention during the broadcast underscores a systemic failure in how live sports coverage is structured. Unlike news divisions, which typically have fact-checkers and editorial oversight on matters of public interest, sports productions often operate under a “show must go on” mentality that prioritizes flow over journalistic accuracy or ethical sensitivity. Amazon Prime Video, which acquired exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football in 2022 on an 11-year, $13 billion deal, has positioned itself as a modern, tech-forward broadcaster. Yet moments like this suggest that the cultural oversight of live sports remains stuck in an older, less accountable era. As the NFL continues to generate over $18 billion in annual revenue, with sexual misconduct cases dating back to the Ray Rice and Kareem Hunt incidents, the league and its broadcast partners have yet to establish consistent, transparent protocols for discussing such matters during games.
**Fontes**
- The original broadcast of Thursday Night Football, Amazon Prime Video, October 1, 2026. - David Purdum, ESPN, “Al Michaels’s ‘Thing’ Remark About Watson Draws Criticism,” October 2, 2026. - The Athletic, NFL Insider reporting on Watson’s suspension and settlements, August 2022. - The Washington Post, “The Deshaun Watson Allegations Timeline,” updated September 2026. - Sports Business Journal, “Amazon’s TNF Production Values and Editorial Standards,” 2025.