A week after a 23rd woman filed a civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson, another has done so, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
The number of women who have accused the Browns quarterback of sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault stood at 22 for many months. The 23rd reported victim filed suit after seeing two of Watson’s accusers, Kyla Hayes and Ashley Solis, detail their allegations during an episode of HBO’s "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" in late May.
Watson has denied all allegations against him, but the rising number of accusers will apply pressure on the NFL, which has concluded its interviews with the 26-year-old passer. The period for pretrial discovery expires July 1, pointing to a suspension coming after that date. Watson has not been criminally charged, but that is not necessary for a suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy to take place.
Ten of the original 22 reported victims made criminal complaints against Watson. Those led to two grand juries not recommending charges against the embattled quarterback. The civil suits are also not expected to be resolved until at least 2023, with the increasing number of suits set to drag this process out. But a suspension is expected to be handed down before this season begins. Additional punishment could emerge after the conclusion of the civil suits, but with that process set to pause from Aug. 1, 2022 through March 1, 2023, it is certainly possible this matter will not be finalized by the start of the 2023 season.
Monday’s lawsuit mentions the “happy endings” remark Watson defense attorney Rusty Hardin made during an interview with Houston Sports Radio 610 last week, Barshop adds (via Twitter). Hardin referenced happy-ending massages not being illegal, and while Watson’s defense leader later attempted to clarify his remarks, the attorney for all 24 accusers, Tony Buzbee, said (via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com) they would be used in civil suits alleging Watson attempted to turn massages from therapeutic to sexual in nature.
The 23rd lawsuit emerged before Hardin’s comments, but it alleges Watson offered each accuser $100K to settle the cases. Not all of the accusers were prepared to settle, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, adding Watson’s team included “aggressive nondisclosure agreements” as part of those settlement offers.
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