Three new civil lawsuits have been filed against Deshaun Watson, which means 19 women have now formally accused the Houston Texans quarterback of sexual assault. While Watson and his representatives have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, Watson may be trying to make some of the cases go away.
ESPN’s Sarah Barshop reviewed the latest suits that were filed, and one of them accuses Watson of trying to cover his tracks and work out settlements with his alleged victims. The lawsuit claims Watson has been deleting old Instagram messages and has reached out to women who have provided him massages in an attempt to reach settlements.
One of the lawsuits filed on Sunday night reads, "As a result of the repeated lawsuits against him, Watson is deleting Instagram messages and contacting those who formally provided him massages, in an attempt to settle."
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) March 29, 2021
The allegations in the newest civil suits continue with the theme of Watson allegedly engaging in inappropriate behavior during massages. One woman says she gave Watson at least three massages and that he intentionally touched her with his penis, according to Samantha Ketterer of the Houston Chronicle. Another woman, a massage therapy student, says she gave Watson two massages at her mother’s house and that he purposely touched her with his penis and ejaculated on her.
One of the women says Watson texted her before the massage and said, “I even have a NDA I have therapist sign too.”
Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing all of the alleged victims, said last week that Watson made masseuses sign non-disclosure agreements.
It would be noteworthy if Watson is trying to settle with some of the victims. While a settlement is not necessarily an admission of guilt, Watson’s agent has publicly accused at least some of the alleged victims of lying for financial gain.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, says the quarterback is a victim of a blackmail attempt in at least one of the cases. You can read more details about that here.
