A woman in Texas filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexually assaulting her throughout an October 2020 date at her condo.
The woman is represented by lawyer Tony Buzbee, who beforehand represented 24 different ladies who sued Watson for claims of sexual harassment or assault throughout therapeutic massage appointments whereas he performed in Houston. Watson denied the earlier allegations.
In 2022, after his commerce to the Browns, Watson settled 23 of the lawsuits and was suspended for 11 video games and fined $5 million for violating the NFL’s private conduct coverage.
According to the most recent civil lawsuit, the woman, recognized as “Jane Doe,” stated she met Watson in a bar whereas he performed for the Houston Texans. She stated she and the quarterback exchanged textual content messages for a number of months.
She claimed in October 2020, Watson got here to the woman’s condo for dinner. That’s when the woman stated Watson took off his garments, laid bare on her mattress and “aggressively insisted that she therapeutic massage him,” the lawsuit said.
According to the court docket submitting, the woman rubbed his again, however then Watson allegedly grabbed her and sexually assaulted her.
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Eventually, the lawsuit said, she was in a position to get free, ran to her dresser, and grabbed a “heavy piece of decor for self-defense,” whereas yelling at Watson to get out of her condo.
The lawsuit stated the woman didn’t report the incident instantly as a result of Watson was the Texans quarterback on the time and was a “native movie star,” and he or she apprehensive how she could be handled.
At the time, Watson maintained his innocence, and two separate Texas grand juries declined felony costs in opposition to him.
“I’ve at all times stood on my innocence and at all times stated I’ve by no means assaulted anybody or disrespected anybody,” Watson stated in August 2022.
According to the most recent lawsuit, the accuser suffers from panic assaults, nervous breakdowns, despair and nervousness as a consequence of what occurred with Watson.
She’s searching for a minimum of $1 million in damages.
In a assertion, Buzbee stated the lawsuit speaks for itself however that “we intend to pursue this case with the identical aggressiveness as we pursued the others,” including that he desires a jury trial in Texas.
Scripps News Cleveland tried to succeed in each the Cleveland Browns and Watson’s attorneys for touch upon the most recent allegations. So far, neither has responded.
As of 2024, Watson is the second highest-paid participant in the league with an ongoing $230 million deal.
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This story was initially revealed by Scott Noll at Scripps News Cleveland.
