A Texas attorney opened 13 separate civil cases, all alleging sexual misconduct against Deshaun Watson.
The lawsuits were filed by Houston’s attorney Tony Buzbee, who filed them in court on behalf of several clients, all claiming that Watson had committed at least one act of sexual misconduct or aggression against them. The suits are all similar in nature: in each case, Watson is accused of acting inappropriately after hiring a woman to give him a private massage.
After Watson was hit in his third lawsuit, which came on March 18, the NFL confirmed for CBSSports.com that the league opened an investigation against the Texas quarterback to see if he violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Here are the most recent details about the allegations (Notice, there are some graphic details):
Process one
The complaints of the first action took place on March 30, 2020 at the masseuse’s house. In this process, which you can read here, the central claim is that “Watson assaulted the Claimant by touching her with his penis”. According to the lawsuit, Watson reportedly contacted a massage therapist on Instagram and asked if she would be willing to give him a massage. Before the two agreed on anything, Watson reportedly asked the woman if the “focus” of the massage could be “in the groin area”.
The woman says that about 25 minutes after the session started, it was clear that “Watson wanted a massage just for one reason – sex”.
Eventually, the woman started to cry and before she could get Watson out, he supposedly said “I know you have a career and reputation, and I know you would hate for someone to mess with yours, just like I don’t want anyone to mess with it with mine. ”
The woman interpreted this as a threat that Watson could try to ruin her career if she said anything.
Process two
The second lawsuit involves an incident that allegedly took place on August 28, 2020. Like the first lawsuit, Watson is accused of contacting a massage therapist on Instagram. In the process, Watson is accused of exposing himself and touching the woman inappropriately. In this case, the woman was from Atlanta and Watson supposedly took her to Houston, where she was supposed to give her a massage at a local hotel.
Before the day of the consultation, Watson reportedly asked the massage therapist if she would be willing to work on her “buttocks” and “groin”. According to the woman, Watson was completely naked before the massage. After that happened, the woman said he should be wearing at least one towel, but Watson reportedly refused to put one on. As soon as the woman realized that Watson wanted more than a massage, she left the hotel room.
According to the lawsuit, Watson’s behavior is seen as “part of a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable women”.
Process three
The third lawsuit involves a situation that allegedly occurred on December 28, 2020. Again, Watson is accused of scheduling a massage appointment using the Instagram messaging function to contact a relatively unknown massage therapist. In that case, the quarterback allegedly set up a meeting to be held in an office building in the Houston area.
According to this process, Watson really forced the woman “to have oral sex with him”. According to ESPN.com, the woman wrote in the lawsuit that she felt “intimidated and threatened” and that “she was afraid of what someone like Watson could do if she didn’t submit to his demands”.
Subsequent legal proceedings
After the first three lawsuits were opened, Buzbee said there would be more and he was not exaggerating. The Texas attorney opened four more lawsuits on March 19. In the fourth lawsuit filed, Watson is accused of sexually assaulting a woman twice. THE first incident allegedly occurred in September 2020 and the second attack reportedly occurred in October 2020.
Watson was also hit by six more cases on Monday, bringing the total to 13. According to one case that was opened on Monday and obtained by ESPN, Watson is accused of sexually assaulting a masseuse a few weeks ago ” for touching it with your penis and exposing yourself. “
The latest lawsuit filed on Monday afternoon alleges that Watson harassed and improperly touched a professional beautician while having a massage in April 2020.
On March 19, Buzbee said he has spoken to 10 other women about a possible lawsuit against Watson, which would bring the total to 22.
Reply from Watson
After Buzbee publicly announced that the first lawsuit would be opened, Watson immediately issued a statement on Twitter where he denied all charges against him.
“As a result of a post on social media made by a plaintiff’s lawyer seeking publicity, I recently became aware of a lawsuit that apparently was brought against me,” wrote Watson. “I haven’t seen the complaint yet, but I know one thing: I never treated any woman with anything but the utmost respect. The plaintiff’s lawyer says that this is not about money, but before filing the case he made six without foundation to calculate the liquidation demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, it’s not about money for me – it’s about clearing my name, and I’m looking forward to doing that. ”
Watson released this statement on March 16 after the first lawsuit was published, but has not commented on the situation since the launch of the second and third lawsuits.
Reaction of the Texans
It appears that Texans found out about the first lawsuit on March 16, and after the allegations emerged, the team quickly released a statement.
“We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a post on social media [on Tuesday night]”said the team.” This is the first time we’ve heard about it and we hope to find out more soon. We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will wait for more information before making any additional statements about this incident. “
NFL is now investigating
Buzbee shared a letter on March 18 that came from NFL senior vice president Lisa Friel, who heads the league’s special council for investigations.
“I became aware of the lawsuits you filed [March 17], as well as the one you submitted this morning, which contains several allegations of misconduct by Houston Texans player Deshaun Watson, “wrote Friel in a letter posted on Instagram by Buzbee (the post has already been deleted).” I am writing to inform you that the League has opened an investigation into these allegations and to request the cooperation of its customers in our investigation. That cooperation would start with Zoom’s interviews with me and another League investigator, in which, of course, you would be present. Please let me know as soon as possible if your customers are willing to help us with our investigation of your allegations. “
The Texans said they will remain in “close contact” with the league over the course of the investigation.
With the league now investigating, there is a chance that Watson could be hit with a punishment if the NFL finds that there is some merit to the charges. With an NFL investigation underway, it may also become more difficult for Texans to change their star quarterback, as other teams may want to see how the investigation unfolds before making a deal for the 25-year-old.
Possible police involvement
Although Watson is not facing any criminal charges, that could change. Buzbee said on March 19 that police in Houston sought him out to find out about any possible crimes that were committed. However, the Houston police say they are “unaware” of any contact between the department and Buzbee. Although it is not clear whether the contact was made, Buzbee said he plans to cooperate with the authorities and also said during a press conference on Friday that he plans to place a package together for the police that will detail each incident. The lawyer also added that filling out a police report will be part of your “next step. “
Even though the police do not appear to be involved yet, Buzbee said he would like to see a grand jury convened so he could examine the evidence and decide whether Watson should be charged.