Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson is now facing 24 civil suits
It was just a little earlier this week that a 23rd woman came forward to file a civil suit against the Browns’ QB, now there are 24.
If things weren’t bad enough for the quarterback, they just got worse with yet another woman coming forward to file a civil suit against him
Deshaun Watson now faces 24 civil suits
According to reports yet another civil suit has been filed against Browns’ QB Deshaun Watson bringing the total number of cases that he faces to 24. As recently as Tuesday the 23rd suit was brought against Watson by Nia Smith who is one of the women being collectively represented by attorney Tony Buzbee. Indeed news of the 24th suit comes on the same day that Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, issued a statement to clarify some of the comments he made during an interview about “happy endings” after massage appointments. The reference is in relation to any type of sexual activity that takes place after a massage has been completed.
“I don’t know how many men are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps occasionally there was a happy ending … If that has happened, it’s not a crime, OK, unless you are paying somebody extra or so to give you some kind of sexual activity,” Hardin said. “Doing something or saying something or being a way that makes you uncomfortable is not a crime. And so we’ve had two grand juries find that, and nobody seems to want to listen.” Hardin’s comments went viral and immediately came under fire which in turn led to the lawyer issuing his statement on Friday evening.
Attorney Rusty Hardin defends Deshaun Watson
“Deshaun Watson did nothing wrong, Hardin declared in his statement. “And as two grand juries have made clear, Deshaun did nothing illegal. Deshaun has always acknowledged consensual sexual activity with three of the plaintiff massage therapists after massages. And Deshaun has repeatedly sworn under oath that he did not force any of his accusers to have sexual contact. ...On a Houston radio show interview today, I mentioned that a massage that has a ‘happy ending’ is not illegal, meaning it is not illegal for someone to have consensual sex with a therapist after a massage unless the sex is for pay. Deshaun did not pay anyone for sex. I was using the term hypothetically and not describing Deshaun’s case.”
“I have reiterated to others it’s not ok to do anything that a woman does not agree to do. These women have alleged assault in their pleadings. I was speaking in a hypothetical situation. If there is a consensual sexual encounter after a massage, that is not a crime nor the basis for a civil lawsuit. I was not talking about what Deshaun did or did not do or expected or did not expect.” Interestingly, the aforementioned attorney for the 24 women, Tony Buzbee said that he believed Hardin “may have single-handedly lost his client’s case because I’m absolutely going to use that comment because I think it speaks volumes to how he, his team and his client think about the massage industry.” It should be noted that these two recent suits are the first brought against Deshaun Watson since the initial 22 were filed back in March/April of 2021.
Where do the Cleveland Browns stand on Deshaun Watson
With the Browns heading into their third week of organized team activities (OTA) and mandatory minicamp starting the week after (June 14-16), one can imagine that the situation involving Watson is not ideal to say the least. Even more so considering that head coach Kevin Stefanski and a number of players will be attending the Cleveland Browns Foundation 22nd Annual Golf Tournament on Monday, and OTAs will be open to the media on Wednesday. Why does that matter? Simply because until now Watson Watson has participated fully in OTAs and even treated his offensive teammates to a trip to the Bahamas two weekends ago for team bonding and on-field work.
Indeed, the quarterback has received overwhelming support from his teammates, including defensive leader Myles Garrett. “It isn’t any of my business,” Garrett said at OTAs Wednesday. ...I don’t know what happened. You don’t know what happened. No one in this room really knows what happened, other than the people that were involved. I can’t move one way or the other, based on hearsay. So, I just have to move with the character of the man that I know from day to day, and it’s a good guy from what I’ve seen, from what I’ve played against and from what I’ve seen in the building. It’s not every day that you grab your whole offense and take them to the Bahamas and you treat them and you’re respectful to the coaches. From what I’ve seen. he’s walked the right way and whether he’s had a slip-up or not, I’m not the judge. I’m not the jury or the executioner. I’m here to play a game and whether we agree or disagree with who he is off the field, that’s yet to be seen. But as far as the guy I know on the field, he’s special.’’
The NFL has yet to state their findings
Where the league is concerned, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a league meeting on May 24th that the league was “nearing the end of the investigative period” of Watson’s case under its personal conduct policy and would soon be handing over their findings to the disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson. Goodell went on to add that there is currently no official timeline for when Robinson will determine whether Watson’s case warrants a suspension, fine or both. With that said, the league’s commissioner did not rule out the possibility of further disciplinary action should more information come to light.
What next for Deshaun Watson, the NFL and the Cleveland Browns?
According to Watson’s legal representative, the NFL will likely make an official decision in June or July, however, at this point that is likely speculation as the Browns themselves have no information on how long Watson’s possible suspension might last. For the moment, the Browns QB continues to train and it is understood that he will be allowed to do so even if he is suspended until the beginning of the regular season. Once the season commences, Watson would in theory be removed from all team activities. If things turn for the worse the Browns will have to turn to backup QB Jacoby Brissett or even out of favor Baker Mayfield who remains on the roster.