Eleven women named in court filings in Watson lawsuits.
attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday amended at least 11 lawsuits naming the women accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and harassment, according to Harris County court filings.
The Houston Chronicle typically does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault or harassment. Of the 11 named plaintiffs, two have already come forward with their identities: Ashley Solis and Lauren Baxley. Amended petitions for the other plaintiffs were not available online as of Tuesday night.
The women, most of whom are massage therapists, allege that Watson assaulted or harassed them during sessions in 2020 and 2021 in Texas, California, Georgia or Arizona. Watson has denied the allegations.
In a statement, Buzbee, in part, said the women have been “emboldened” by recent court orders to publicize some of their identities.
“It appears the Watson team thinks that if these courageous women are forced to identify themselves, they would slink away and not pursue this matter,” he said. “Watson and his counsel badly miscalculated.
“Due to the bravery of Ashley Solis to come forward publicly, and despite the death threats she has experienced, these women are now emboldened. Today we are amending our petitions to disclose the names of the victims, even those not currently subject to any court order. The message to Watson’s team from these brave women is: ‘Be careful what you ask for.’ ”
Buzbee went on to say that Watson “may now claim he had consent to do what he did to these victims, but let’s be clear — in their minds he didn’t have consent, period.”
In his response Tuesday night, Rusty Hardin, Watson’s attorney, contended that Buzbee’s “form of accusation has never been legal under the law or Texas practice.”
“We are happy that he’s decided to comply with court orders, and we look forward to continually showing that the allegations of his clients are untrue,” Hardin said. “All of the other self-serving things he said, we will deal with in due course. I will say this, there is a reason that courts require both sides to be heard. That is because an accuHouston
sation is not proof that it is true.”
The change to the lawsuits comes after two Harris County judges on Friday ordered in separate hearings that Buzbee should make the identities of the accusers public in accordance with state codes. All 22 women who sued Watson were initially named in court documents as “Jane Doe,” which many advocates and sexual assault litigators say is a common practice.
State District Judge Dedra Davis granted Hardin’s request that Buzbee identify one woman in court documents, and Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier made the same determination in the cases of three other women. Ten other women who were set for hearings before Collier and another judge agreed to allow Buzbee to release their names to the court, Buzbee and Hardin said.
Hardin previously said that Buzbee’s team wasn’t giving him the names of the women, making it difficult for him to investigate and respond to the 22 separate accusations. Upon hearing that Hardin asked for emergency hearings to resolve the issue, Buzbee said he offered to confidentially hand the names to the defense but protect the names from the public and Hardin declined.
The judges ultimately determined the names should be public. The issue of eight more names has not gone before a judge, and Hardin on Tuesday again asked for hearings in those women’s cases.