DESHAUN Watson has spoken out days after he was accused of sexual assault.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback was the center of attention once again on Monday after another lawsuit was filed against him in Texas accusing him of sexual assault and battery.
3
3
The alleged incident took place in October 2020 while Watson was a member of the Houston Texans, as per ESPN.
Watson categorically denied the allegations in a statement via his lawyer Rusty Hardin on Wednesday.
“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,” Hardin stated.
“We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated.
“We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don’t intend to conduct our defense in the media.
“We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course.”
Subsequently, when speaking with reporters, Watson admitted he was unaware that the lawsuit was coming prior to Monday, adding that he was surprised by the allegations.
Asked why he believed these allegations kept happening, Watson simply replied, “I’m in the same boat as you bossman.”
Watson repeatedly added that his focus was on their upcoming game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars – one which he will still start despite the allegations.
“We’ll let the due process play out and follow the NFL’s guidelines,” head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters.
Stefanski also noted that he “was not aware of the allegations” prior to Monday’s lawsuit.
Tony Buzbee, who is representing Doe, claimed Watson’s legal team were notified of the allegations 10 months ago.
“We reached out to attorney Rusty Hardin’s office for ten months in an attempt to resolve this case,” a statement from Buzbee claimed.
“We knew this case was the most serious and egregious case brought against Watson to date and our client, who is rightly traumatized by these events, wanted to attempt a private resolution.”
The NFL are currently conducting a review into the complaint, according to Brian McCarthy, a spokesperson for the league, via ESPN.
“We are reviewing the complaint, and we will look into the matter under the personal conduct policy,” he said.
“Not looking at commissioner’s exempt list as there’s been no formal charges and the league’s review has just begun.”
Watson is alleged to have met the woman, identified in the lawsuit only as Doe, at a Houston restaurant where she gave him her number.
Eventually, they arranged a dinner date together at her apartment in an attempt to avoid meeting in public.
Watson is said to have gotten agressive when he was unbable to find her home, yelling at Doe over the phone.
Once at her apartment, Doe allegedly asked Watson to wait for her in her living room as she needed time to finish getting ready.
Doe claimed that she found watson laying nude and facing down on her bed, demanding a massage.
In an attempt to avoid angering Watson, and said to be “still reeling from Watson’s outburst and aggression on the phone,” Doe rubbed his back.
Doe claimed she was subsequently sexually assaulted by Watson for several minutes before she managed to get a hold of “a heavy piece of decor for self-defense” at which point she told him to leave.
This is not the first time Watson has faces such allegations.
In 2022, he settled 23 of 24 lawsuits against him in which he was accused of sexual misconduct by massage therapists, as per the NFL.
Watson also did not face criminal charges after two grand juries in Texas opted against pressing charges against him in March of that year.
Two lawsuits alledging sexual misconduct by massage therapists remain active, as per ESPN.
Following his trade from the Texans to the Browns in 2022, he served an 11-game suspension and was handed a $5 million fine by the NFL for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy.
Watson also had to participate in “a professional evaluation and treatment plan,” according to a statement from NFL comissioner Roger Goodell.
3
