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In 22 of the massage sessions that led to civil lawsuits against Brown quarterback Deshon Watson, Watson admitted – through his lawyers – that three of the massages led to consensual sex.
“What was a bit of sexual activity was by mutual consent,” Gasti Feldman, Rusty Hardin’s lawyer, told a podcast recently. “And there are only three cases in our cases where there has been some kind of sexual activity.
On Tuesday, Hardin’s office released a separate video of Hardin, which, among other things, echoes that he had sex by mutual consent with three of the 22 masseurs.
“As we said, as Deshon insisted under oath, each of these three cases was by mutual consent and was identified by the women,” Hardin said. “But in the other. . . 19 cases had no sexual activity. And Deshon has already given nine testimonies – 11 now – and has sworn under oath that there was no sexual activity other than these three incidents and they were by mutual consent.
Another member of Watson’s legal team, Leah Graham, made a similar confession during an interview with Soledad O’Brien of HBO.
“Well, at every massage I will tell you that he went, intending only for a professional massage, and only these three cases where there was sexual behavior – sexual activity by mutual consent – it happened after the end of the massage session.” Graham said. “Mr Watson also testified and insisted that this sexual activity was initiated by the plaintiff in each individual case.”
Probably the lawyers made these confessions about sexual activity because they have no choice but to make that confession. However, this is hardly the strong point of the case. In fact, this is a potentially significant weakness.
Extend the lens. Watson received massages from a wide range of female therapists. Among the 22 who tried him and the 18 who later vouched for him, this is FORTY. For a person who has access to any massage services he needs or requires.
The fact that he admits through his lawyers that three of the 22 massages that led to lawsuits ended in sex by mutual consent underscores the potentially convincing argument that he sought not only massages but more.
Yes, he insists that the three cases of sex were by mutual consent. Yes, he claims that the masseurs initiated it. But if Watson finds masseurs on social media and after 13.6 percent of those massages actually engage in sexual activity after the massage, isn’t it reasonable to conclude that he went into the massage with the thought that maybe, just maybe, will turn sexual? That maybe, just maybe, there’s something he can do to push things that way?
Most of the cases against Watson stem from allegations that he tried to incite things in this way. The fact that sexual activity occurred in three cases inevitably adds credibility to the statement that in the other 19 cases he at least tried to move the massage in that direction.
A few weeks ago, the presiding judge allowed 22 plaintiffs to seek evidence as to whether Watson had engaged in sexual activity with the 19 masseurs who provided statements in support of Watson. This decision – and our fair and impartial attitude towards it – actually provoked an angry reaction from Watson’s camp.
Why would Watson’s lawyers be angry? Because they know that if Watson can be portrayed as a person who has had the habit of alternating massages on social media with strangers and hopes to get more than a massage, this is in line with the claims of those who claim that have been traumatized by their affirmative effort to get more than just a massage.
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