The NFL said it is reviewing the civil lawsuit filed Monday accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 while he was a member of the Houston Texans.
“We are reviewing the complaint and will review the matter under the personal conduct policy. We will not be looking at the commissioner’s exemption list because there have been no formal charges and the league’s review has only just begun,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
The new civil complaint filed in Houston yesterday accuses Watson.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident occurred before Watson and a woman, who is referred to as “Jane Doe” in court documents, arranged to meet for dinner at the woman’s apartment.
The complaint states that Watson met the woman, a single mother, at a Houston restaurant. He allegedly got her phone number and initially tried to ask her out on a date at the Houston Galleria. Reluctant to meet Watson in public, the woman agreed to dinner at his apartment, according to the complaint.
On the night of the date, according to the complaint, she said Watson was having trouble finding the apartment and he allegedly began yelling aggressively into the phone, saying he “didn’t have time for this.”
The complaint states that while the woman was putting on makeup in the bathroom, she found Watson “completely naked on his bed, face down on his stomach.” Watson then asked the woman to massage his buttocks and the woman “tried to soothe Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks,” according to the lawsuit.
Watson then allegedly returned and “continued to request that Jane Doe massage him, making motions from his knees to his groin.” The woman told Watson she was not a masseuse, to which Watson asked what she wanted to do instead, according to the complaint.
Before the woman could respond, Watson allegedly “partially undressed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implied or expressed,” according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually abused the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of scenery to defend herself. Watson then “quickly left the apartment.”
Watson, 28, served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Two Texas grand juries declined to bring criminal charges against Watson, but he served his suspension after the NFL and NFL Players Association reached a settlement.
Watson was also fined $5 million and underwent a mandatory evaluation by experts. He underwent recommended treatment before being reinstated by the league.
The lawsuit filed Monday is not related to the single civil suit filed by women who accused him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same lawyer, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman to sue Watson.
Watson settled 23 of 24 civil lawsuits against him by summer 2022.
In March 2022, the Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, for Watson. They also gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, which was an NFL record at the time.
The Cleveland team released a statement on Tuesday.
“We will respect the due process that our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil complaint and we will follow the NFL’s guidelines in this matter,” the team said.
Watson was limited to just 13 starts due to his suspension and a shoulder injury that required surgery in 2023.
He played for the first time in 10 months last Sunday, completing 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards and throwing a touchdown pass and two interceptions in a 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Browns will face the Jaguars in Jacksonville this week.
– What are the details of the new sexual assault allegations against Deshaun Watson in the civil lawsuit?
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Deshaun Watson Faces New Sexual Assault Allegations in Civil Lawsuit
The National Football League (NFL) is reviewing a new civil lawsuit filed against Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns quarterback, accusing him of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 while he was a member of the Houston Texans [[1]]. This latest allegation is not related to the previous sexual misconduct accusations during massage sessions, but it does share the same lawyer, Tony Buzbee, representing the latest plaintiff.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident occurred when Watson met a single mother, referred to as “Jane Doe,” at a Houston restaurant. Watson allegedly got her phone number and initially tried to ask her out on a date at the Houston Galleria, but the woman agreed to dinner at his apartment instead. On the night of the date, Watson had trouble finding the apartment and began yelling aggressively into the phone, saying he “didn’t have time for this” [[2]].
The complaint states that while the woman was putting on makeup in the bathroom, she found Watson “completely naked on his bed, face down on his stomach.” Watson then asked the woman to massage his buttocks, and the woman “tried to soothe Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks.” Watson continued to request the massage, making motions from his knees to his groin, and when the woman refused, he allegedly partially undressed her and penetrated her vagina without consent [[3]].
The lawsuit alleges that Watson sexually abused the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of scenery to defend herself. Watson then quickly left the apartment. This new allegation is a serious accusation, and the NFL is reviewing the matter under the personal conduct policy.
Watson, 28, has faced numerous sexual misconduct allegations in the past. In 2022, he served an 11-game suspension and was fined $5 million after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Two Texas grand juries declined to bring criminal charges against Watson, but he underwent a mandatory evaluation by experts and received recommended treatment before being reinstated by the league [[1]].
Watson settled 23 of 24 civil lawsuits against him by summer 2022. In March 2022, the Cleveland Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, for Watson and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, which was an NFL record at the time.
The NFL’s review of the new civil lawsuit is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how this latest allegation will affect Watson’s career and reputation. One thing is certain, however: the allegations against Watson are serious and deserve to be taken seriously.
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Deshaun Watson Faces New Sexual Assault Lawsuit Amid NFL Review
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is facing a new civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and battery in October 2020, while he was a member of the Houston Texans. The NFL has announced that it is reviewing the complaint and will investigate the matter under the personal conduct policy.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident occurred when Watson met a woman, referred to as “Jane Doe,” at a Houston restaurant. The woman, a single mother, agreed to meet Watson for dinner at her apartment after he initially asked her out on a date at the Houston Galleria. On the night of the date, Watson allegedly had trouble finding the apartment and began yelling aggressively into the phone, saying he “didn’t have time for this.”
The complaint states that while the woman was putting on makeup in the bathroom, she found Watson completely naked on his bed, face down on his stomach. Watson then asked the woman to massage his buttocks, and she tried to soothe him by rubbing his back instead. Watson allegedly continued to request that the woman massage him, making motions from his knees to his groin.
The woman told Watson she was not a masseuse, and he asked what she wanted to do instead. Before she could respond, Watson allegedly partially undressed her and penetrated her vagina without consent, implied or express. The lawsuit alleges that Watson sexually abused the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of scenery to defend herself. Watson then quickly left the apartment.
This is not the first time Watson has faced allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2022, more than a dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Watson served an 11-game suspension and was fined $5 million, and he underwent a mandatory evaluation by experts and recommended treatment before being reinstated by the league. He settled 23 of 24 civil lawsuits against him by summer 2022.
The latest lawsuit is not related to the single civil suit filed by women who accused him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same lawyer, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman to sue Watson.
The NFL has announced that it will review the complaint and investigate the matter under the personal conduct policy. The league has stated that it will not be looking at the commissioner’s exemption list because there have been no formal charges and the league’s review has only just begun.
Watson’s legal troubles are not new, and this latest lawsuit adds to the scrutiny surrounding his actions. The NFL’s review of the complaint will likely be closely watched, and it remains to be seen how this latest development will impact Watson’s career.
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