Deshaun Watson’s lawyer stresses that ‘happy endings’ are not a crime
Jan 23, 2020; Kissimmee, Florida, USA; Houston Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson (4) during AFC practice at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Deshaun Watson has denied all of the sexual assault allegations that have been made against him in the past year. The Cleveland Browns star did admit to having consensual sexual encounters with some of the nearly two dozen women who are suing him, however. Watson’s lawyer wants to remind everyone that engaging in such acts is not a crime — even in a massage parlor.
Rusty Hardin, the lead attorney representing Watson, spoke about the 23 lawsuits that have been filed against Watson during a Friday appearance on SportsRadio 610. He took some time to stress that massages that feature a “happy ending” are not a crime.
“I don’t know how many men that are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps, occasionally, there was happy ending. Maybe there’s nobody in your listening audience that that has ever happened to. I do want to point out that if it has happened, it is not a crime,” Hardin said. “Unless you are paying somebody extra (money) to give you some type of sexual activity, it’s not a crime. Doing something or saying something or being a way that makes you uncomfortable is not a crime. We had two grand juries find that, and nobody seems to want to listen.”
You can hear the comments below:
Deshaun Watson's attorney Rusty Hardin ended his interview with @SethCPayne & @SeanTPendergast this morning reminding the audience that "happy endings" to massages are not necessarily illegal. https://t.co/dkWBghW7Eg pic.twitter.com/V0nOq1PeAi
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) June 3, 2022
Watson’s legal team has admitted from the beginning that the star quarterback engaged in consensual sex acts with some of the now-23 women who have accused Watson of sexual assault. That admission came after one of the alleged victims spoke out publicly.
During a recent pre-trial deposition, Watson said one of his massage sessions ended when one of the accusers began to cry. He admitted to apologizing to her, but only for making her feel uncomfortable in some way. Watson claimed he did not know why she was upset.
As Hardin noted, two grand juries in Texas declined to indict Watson. He is still facing 23 lawsuits, and we learned on Friday that he tried to settle them all last year for a very specific reason.