Houston Texans Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been hit with a fourteenth lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct and inappropriate conduct. The latest lawsuit describes the quarterback as a "serial predator."
The most recent is alleged to have taken place in California. A massage therapist claims that Watson invited her to a private location. When she arrived, Watson allegedly led her to a room and closed the door behind her. The massage therapist said that Watson "forced [the] Plaintiff's hand onto his penis." From there, Watson allegedly said, "I will not have you sign [an] NDA but don't ever talk about this." Months later, the lawsuit claims the former college football champion reached and acted "as if nothing had happened."
Over the course of two weeks, Watson has been slapped with more than a dozen lawsuits alleging that he took advantage of and violated numerous women. Last week, attorney Tony Buzbee claims that he had heard from 22 women with stories similar to those documented in the 14 lawsuits. Buzbee also reported that the Houston Police Department reached out to him regarding the civil lawsuits that have been filed. In response, Watson has called the accusations levied against him "meritless" and untrue.
"As a result of a social media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff’s lawyer, I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me," Watson tweeted on March 16 after the first lawsuit was filed.
"I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect. The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me – it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that."
At this time, all of the lawsuits that have been filed are civil lawsuits. As a result, the Harris County District Attorney and the Houston Police Department have not issued a formal statement regarding these allegations.
"It would be inappropriate for the District Attorney's Office to comment on a civil lawsuit, and we refrain from publicly discussing allegations in any matter until and if a criminal charge is filed; we do this out of fairness to all," Harris Country District Attorney Spokesperson Dane Schiller said.
Adding on, Watson's employer, the National Football League, has launched an official investigation into the matter. The league has not yet shared any of its findings or issued a punishment for Watson.
“The NFL informed us today that they will conduct an investigation into the allegations made in the civil lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson. We will stay in close contact with the league as they do," a Houston Texans spokesperson stated.
"We continue to take this and all matters involving anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We do not anticipate making any additional statements until the NFL’s investigation concludes.”
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