United states

Cleveland Browns QB Deshon Watson faces 23rd active civil case for alleged sexual misconduct

Another woman filed a lawsuit against Deshon Watson, joining 22 others who accused the Cleveland Browns quarterback of civil cases filed in 2021 of inappropriate sexual behavior during massage sessions.

The 23rd civil lawsuit filed in Texas against Watson on Tuesday said the lawsuit said the plaintiff had her first massage with Watson in the summer of 2020 and that his “behavior had deteriorated.” During the third and final massage, she claimed in the case that Watson exposed himself to her, touched the woman between the legs and “repeatedly begged her” to have sex with him.

According to the lawsuit, the woman changed her mind to sue Watson after watching “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” on HBO last week. On the show, two other women, Ashley Solis and Kayla Hayes, who also accused Watson of sexual misconduct, criticized the Browns for giving the quarterback a guaranteed $ 230 million NFL record after trading for him in March

1 Related

“It’s just like a big fuck,” Solis told HBO.

Leah Graham, one of Watson’s lawyers, told HBO that Watson “does not regret not doing anything wrong.”

“In this piece, the plaintiff was struck by the courage of the victims, who were ready to step forward and speak, and was extremely dissatisfied with the ill-treatment and re-victimization of the plaintiffs by Watson and his legal team,” the latest lawsuit said. “But Watson himself says he is” not sorry “even now and has done nothing wrong to bolster her resolve. She filed the lawsuit seeking minimal compensation, but to obtain a court ruling that Watson’s conduct was wrong.

In the latter case, the plaintiff also claimed that Watson’s lawyer had contacted her to determine at the time whether she was among those who had brought civil cases against the quarterback. The lawsuit alleges that during that meeting, Watson’s lawyer tried to “intimidate” her.

Rusty Hardin, who also represents Watson, said in a statement later Tuesday that his client “vehemently denies the allegations” of sexual misconduct, just as she has since she first discussed them with members of our firm last March. year “. Harden also denied the woman’s allegation of intimidation of a lawyer when the parties met earlier.

Two major jurors in Texas have refused to prosecute Watson, who has denied all violations. The NFL is investigating whether Watson violated his rules of ethical conduct and personally interviewed counsel two weeks ago as part of the investigation.

At the league’s spring meeting in Atlanta, Commissioner Roger Goodell said he believed the NFL was nearing the end of its investigation, but could not give a timeline for when a decision could be made.

Brown did not immediately comment on the latest case. Tony Busby, the lawyer for the 23 plaintiffs, said “other cases may be against” Watson.

“Watson’s defense team denigrated these women and this cause,” he said in a statement. “Shame on them! We look forward to hearing this case in court.”