The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Watson facing 24th lawsuit
Stefanski: ‘We’re trying to just be respectful of the process and let that take care of it’
Deshaun Watson was among players who made an appearance at the Browns Foundation “Stay in the Game” golf outing June 6 at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River. Money raised is used for programs to encourage innercity students to finish high school.
Not long before the fivesomes with a player or coach as the celebrity in each group teed off shortly after noon, another therapist added her name to the list of women suing Watson for alleged sexual misconduct during massage sessions in 2020 and 2021 while Watson was with the Houston Texans. The total of women suing Watson stands at 24.
Coach Kevin Stefanski, as he does each time he is asked about his quarterback’s legal problems, would not comment on the new lawsuit directly.
“With that, we’re trying to just be respectful of the process and let that take care of it,” Stefanski said before the golf outing began.
Stefanski talked in general about Watson (Watson did not play) and other players using their time June 6 to help raise money in the golf outing.
“I think Deshaun, but really all of our players, really understand how important it is to get into the community and give back,” Stefanski said. “That’s something that’s really important to our players. We talked about it this morning.
“So I think all of our guys being out here just today, obviously, but then moving forward we’ve had guys doing visits all spring in the schools. We’ll continue to do that. It’s a big part of who we are.”
The latest lawsuit stems from a massage session on Aug. 9, 2020, in which Watson allegedly became sexually inappropriate. The suit alleges Watson told the unnamed therapist, “Relax, it is OK to touch (his penis).”
The suit contains other graphic details about what allegedly happened after the woman stopped the massage.
“Today we filed the twentyfourth case alleging sexual misconduct against Deshaun Watson,” Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing all 24 women suing Watson, told Yahoo.com. “The allegations made in this new case are strikingly similar to those made by many of the other victims. Lost in the media frenzy surrounding Deshaun Watson is that these are twenty-four strong, courageous women who, despite ridicule, legal shenanigans, and intense media scrutiny, continue to stand firm for what is right.
“Setting aside the legal wrangling, the complicity of the NFL, or the failures of the criminal justice system, the resounding story that should be told here is that these women are true heroes. I will say again, our entire team is incredibly proud to represent these women, and we look forward to the day when we can lay out their cases in detail in front of a jury.”
Throughout this ordeal, Watson has maintained he did nothing wrong. He has said any sessions that escalated to sexual encounters were consensual. The women suing Watson claim what allegedly happened was not consensual.
Rusty Hardin, Watson’s lawyer, appeared on KILTAM 610 in Houston on June 3 and said “it’s not a crime” when a massage session concludes with “a happy ending.”
“I don’t know how many men are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps occasionally there was a happy ending, all right?” Hardin said. “Maybe there’s nobody in your listening audience that that never happened to. I do want to point out, if it has happened, it’s not a crime, OK? Unless you are paying somebody extra or so to give you some type of sexual activity, it’s not a crime.”
Two grand juries in the Houston area in March declined to indict Watson on criminal charges. One grand jury reached its decision before the Browns acquired Watson on March 18 for six draft picks. Three of them were first-round choices. The second decision was reached on March 24.
The lack of criminal charges does not affect the 24 civil lawsuits Watson is facing. Those trials, which must be held separately, are not expected to begin until March 2023.
The NFL is conducting its own investigation. Watson faces game suspensions if the league concludes he violated the league’s personal conduct policy.
There is no shortage of people predicting how long the banishment might be — four games, six, eight, 10, the entire 2022 season. The problem for the Browns as they prepare for a new season with a new quarterback is they don’t know how long Watson might be suspended or when it will begin.
“I think all along, we’re just going to take those things day-by-day and when we have information, then we’ll act on said information,” Stefanski said. “Prior to that we’ll just kind of talk about how we envision things going and then be ready to adjust.”
The Browns have three more days of voluntary organized team activities this week beginning June 7. A three-day mandatory minicamp starts June 14. Players are then off until training camp begins in late July.