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NFL investigating latest lawsuit against Deshaun Watson

NFL investigating latest lawsuit against Deshaun Watson - ESPN

The NFL says it is reviewing a civil lawsuit filed Monday accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 when he was a member of the Houston Texans.

"We are reviewing the complaint, and we will look into the matter under the personal conduct policy. Not looking at commissioner's exempt list as there's been no formal charges and the league's review has just begun," league spokesperson Brian McCarthy said.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Harris County, Texas, the alleged actions occurred before Watson and a woman, who goes by the pseudonym "Jane Doe" in the court filing, were set to have dinner at the woman's apartment.

The lawsuit states that Watson met the woman, a single mother, at a Houston restaurant and bar, managed to get her phone number and initially attempted to have her meet him at the Houston Galleria for a date. Reluctant to meet Watson in public, the woman instead agreed to a dinner date at her apartment, according to the lawsuit.

On the evening of the date, according to the lawsuit, she said Watson had trouble finding her apartment and began aggressively yelling and screaming at her on the phone, saying he didn't "have time for this."

The lawsuit alleges that, while applying makeup in her bathroom, the woman then found Watson "completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach." Watson then requested that the woman massage his buttocks and the woman "tried to appease Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks," according to the lawsuit.

Watson then turned over and "continued to demand that Jane Doe massage him, gesturing from his knees to his groin," according to the lawsuit. The woman told Watson that she was not a masseuse, to which Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, the suit alleges.

Before the woman could answer, Watson "partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit," according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of decor for self-defense. Watson then "stormed out of Jane Doe's apartment," according to the lawsuit.

In a statement to ESPN, a Browns spokesperson said, "We will respect the due process our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil suit and follow the NFL's guidelines on this matter."

Watson, 28, served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. A pair of Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, but he served his suspension after the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached a settlement in his disciplinary matter.

Watson also had to pay a fine of $5 million and undergo mandatory evaluation by behavioral experts and follow their suggested treatment program before being reinstated by the league.

Watson settled 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed against him in the summer of 2022.

The lawsuit filed Monday is unrelated to the lone suit remaining from the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman to sue Watson.

In March 2022, the Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, for Watson and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million deal, which was an NFL record at the time.

The suspension and injuries have limited Watson to just 13 starts with Cleveland, which includes a 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday -- his first game since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last November. Watson completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in the loss.

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Just now, Bungaman said:

I read that this may give the Browns a way out of his contract - there is a clause about behavior, and his signature was based on telling the truth about having no outstanding incidents. 

I wonder if the Browns FO sent out a private investigator to interview every massage therapist in Houston to find one that had an incident but had not filed a complaint. They could offer to pay her legal fess plus a tidy sum: giving here $5M to get out of a $200M boat anchor would be very attractive. Even if the league office got wind of it afterwards, and decided to become "shocked, shocked!" that a team would do such a thing, based on the joke penalties levied on the owners of the Cheatriots, Foreskins and others for malfeasance, it would be worth it.  

my understanding is that even if they can get out of paying him they would still have the dead cap which is like 200m this year and goes down to 100m in 2 years.

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3 minutes ago, k-met57 said:

my understanding is that even if they can get out of paying him they would still have the dead cap which is like 200m this year and goes down to 100m in 2 years.

I didn't realize that - so they can't escape the cap hit? Hhhmmm ... watch them get the lawyers out ...

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2 hours ago, Bronx said:

 

"Before the woman could answer, Watson "partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit," according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of decor for self-defense. Watson then "stormed out of Jane Doe's apartment," according to the lawsuit."

 

Sounds like yet another incompletion for Watson.  🤣

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9 minutes ago, Maxman said:

Sounds like this story in Cleveland may not have a happy ending.

Did you realize that if you and I went to a WNBA game  and each team has 12 players on the bench it would still be less than the number of woman who accuse him of sexual assault. Crazy! 

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I have no love for the guy, and it is sad that any person would assault another person sexually.

You would think 20+ counts you would steer clear from him.

That said, the timing of this makes me think the browns themselves found this person to come forward.  I would assume there is some built in clause.

I didn't read the article.  

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27 minutes ago, hawk said:

I have no love for the guy, and it is sad that any person would assault another person sexually.

You would think 20+ counts you would steer clear from him.

That said, the timing of this makes me think the browns themselves found this person to come forward.  I would assume there is some built in clause.

I didn't read the article.  

The allegations are for conduct several years old. Don't believe in a conspiracy, but do think it's quite possible the Browns claim "material omission" and try to invalidate the contract and re-coup some money. At the time, Browns GM did mention they required Watson to disclose all "potential acts of past misconduct." Now, will Browns win? Probably not, but I see a settlement of some sort.

In short, Watson's play is no longer worth the PR hit/hassle.

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20 minutes ago, jgb said:

The allegations are for conduct several years old. Don't believe in a conspiracy, but do think it's quite possible the Browns claim "material omission" and try to invalidate the contract and re-coup some money. At the time, Browns GM did mention they required Watson to disclose all "potential acts of past misconduct." Now, will Browns win? Probably not, but I see a settlement of some sort.

In short, Watson's play is no longer worth the PR hit/hassle.

$200 million.  A private investigation would cost a fraction of that.

That said, shame on the browns for even taking on the guy in the first place.

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2 minutes ago, hawk said:

$200 million.  A private investigation would cost a fraction of that.

That said, shame on the browns for even taking on the guy in the first place.

I'm not disagreeing -- I think the Browns' calculus at the time was that this is an elite QB and once we are winning, the PR fallout will be manageable.

Only now Watson looks cooked and suddenly, there is nothing to distract from the fact that he appears to be a Weinstein-level predator.

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35 minutes ago, Jimmy 2 Times said:

Like 99% of this board was screaming for.  We still need to necro those threads.  

 

@TuscanyTile2, got a few hours?  

No one could have imagined the skeletons in Watson’s closet 

the one thing I remember having some concern about at the time was his injury history. But, I was still on board. 

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22 hours ago, k-met57 said:

my understanding is that even if they can get out of paying him they would still have the dead cap which is like 200m this year and goes down to 100m in 2 years.

The NFLPA filed grievances on behalf of Hernandez against the Patriots after they withheld part of his salary/bonuses after he was arrested.  He had just signed an extension the year before.

It worked its way through the court system.  The Patriots eventually settled years later.  They were given a salary cap credit.

If the NFLPA will file on behalf of a murderer, they will do the same for a rapist.

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23 hours ago, Bronx said:

NFL investigating latest lawsuit against Deshaun Watson

NFL investigating latest lawsuit against Deshaun Watson - ESPN

The NFL says it is reviewing a civil lawsuit filed Monday accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 when he was a member of the Houston Texans.

"We are reviewing the complaint, and we will look into the matter under the personal conduct policy. Not looking at commissioner's exempt list as there's been no formal charges and the league's review has just begun," league spokesperson Brian McCarthy said.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Harris County, Texas, the alleged actions occurred before Watson and a woman, who goes by the pseudonym "Jane Doe" in the court filing, were set to have dinner at the woman's apartment.

The lawsuit states that Watson met the woman, a single mother, at a Houston restaurant and bar, managed to get her phone number and initially attempted to have her meet him at the Houston Galleria for a date. Reluctant to meet Watson in public, the woman instead agreed to a dinner date at her apartment, according to the lawsuit.

On the evening of the date, according to the lawsuit, she said Watson had trouble finding her apartment and began aggressively yelling and screaming at her on the phone, saying he didn't "have time for this."

The lawsuit alleges that, while applying makeup in her bathroom, the woman then found Watson "completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach." Watson then requested that the woman massage his buttocks and the woman "tried to appease Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks," according to the lawsuit.

Watson then turned over and "continued to demand that Jane Doe massage him, gesturing from his knees to his groin," according to the lawsuit. The woman told Watson that she was not a masseuse, to which Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, the suit alleges.

Before the woman could answer, Watson "partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit," according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of decor for self-defense. Watson then "stormed out of Jane Doe's apartment," according to the lawsuit.

In a statement to ESPN, a Browns spokesperson said, "We will respect the due process our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil suit and follow the NFL's guidelines on this matter."

Watson, 28, served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. A pair of Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, but he served his suspension after the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached a settlement in his disciplinary matter.

Watson also had to pay a fine of $5 million and undergo mandatory evaluation by behavioral experts and follow their suggested treatment program before being reinstated by the league.

Watson settled 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed against him in the summer of 2022.

The lawsuit filed Monday is unrelated to the lone suit remaining from the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman to sue Watson.

In March 2022, the Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, for Watson and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million deal, which was an NFL record at the time.

The suspension and injuries have limited Watson to just 13 starts with Cleveland, which includes a 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday -- his first game since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last November. Watson completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in the loss.

I don’t understand why she preferred her apartment to a public place? I would think a public place is a safer setting if she wasn’t comfortable with him.

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