LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21: Quarterback Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans attends the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies basketball game at Staples Center on February 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork S. Djansezian/Getty Images)
Over the course of just two weeks, nearly two dozen women have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. These allegations, which were made in lawsuits and, in several cases, echoed by accusers’ public statements, describe a similar M.O. on Watson’s part. These women, who provide professional massage services for work, were contacted by Watson or an intermediary. They then scheduled massage sessions. When these sessions took place, they alleged, Watson acted inappropriately. These women have described feeling fearful, with some worried about Watson’s physical size and others concerned his prominence could make the decision to come forward difficult.
The NFL has been criticized in court papers, with initial lawsuits claiming it’s “notorious in its own right for a culture that fosters sexual harassment and sexual assault. Despite its lip service and a strong ad campaign to the contrary, many of its players have been accused of committing heinous sexual crimes against women. The NFL is no stranger to scandal, certainly when it comes to offenses against women.”
Watson has denied the allegations. No criminal charges have been revealed. Here’s what we know about the allegations after several weeks of twists and turns.
At least 23 women have come forward
As of Wednesday morning, 22 women had filed civil lawsuits against Watson in Harris County, Texas, court alleging sexual misconduct, public records indicate. Some of these lawsuits allege that Watson positioned his penis to touch their respective hands during the massage sessions, while some stated that he masturbated or ejaculated onto them. Three women said Watson forced or coerced them into performing oral sex on him, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.
The first woman who filed suit against Watson came forward publicly on Tuesday, following his lawyers’ questions about accusers’ identities, the Chronicle reported. This accuser, licensed massage therapist Ashley Solis, said at a news conference that she has struggled with her career following Watson’s alleged assault. Solis claimed that she now encountered difficulties treating patients without shaking, and has had to cut sessions short several times.
“We were all deceived into thinking that Deshaun Watson was a great guy,” Solis reportedly said. “Unfortunately, we know that good guys can do terrible things.”
Solis claimed that Watson’s misconduct happened on March 30, 2020, at her home in Houston. She claimed in her suit that Watson requested that she focus on his groin area—and at one point exposed his fully erect penis, putting it against her hand. Solis ended the session right away, per court papers.
At this same press conference, lawyers identified a second accuser. Attorney Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey read a letter from this woman, Lauren Baxley, which she says she wrote to Watson. (This letter was penned at the suggestion of Baxley’s therapist.) Baxley has alleged that Watson exposed himself during their massage session and put his penis on her hand. Watson kept telling Baxley to move her hands near his anus, she stated.
“I did not want to touch you, but my terror kept me in autopilot,” she reportedly said in the letter. Attorney Tony Buzbee, who’s representing the accusers in all of these lawsuits, said that he turned away five other women because he couldn’t back up their allegations.
Another accuser, known publicly as “Mary,” spoke with Sports Illustrated about an alleged fall 2019 experience with Watson that she says was inappropriate. Mary said that Watson neither touched nor forced her into sexual acts.
Mary said that the appointment with Watson was scheduled through another local massage therapist. She didn’t know this client was Watson until 15 minutes before their session. Some 45 minutes into their session, she said, Watson threw the towel that was covering him onto the floor, saying it was overly itchy.
When that happened, Watson was lying with his back against the table, nude and completely exposed, which Mary said had never happened during any other massage appointments in her career. After an hour and a half, Watson became erect and started “thrusting the air,” she told Sports Illustrated. When Mary, who thought that Watson might be in pain, asked whether he was all right, Watson reportedly said yes and stopped thrusting.
While she knew that erections can happen during massages as a natural relaxation response, and had this happen with clients before in an innocuous way, but Watson’s actions suggested “his intentions were different.” As the session came to a close, Mary noticed what she believed might have been pre-ejaculate on his stomach. He allegedly started the pelvic thrusting again. “At that point, I recognized it for what it was,” Mary reportedly recalled, telling him to “calm down.” Watson stopped thrusting and their session ended, she alleged.
Mary is represented by an attorney other than Buzbee. She told Sports Illustrated that she reached out to Buzbee’s office after the first allegations emerged, but declined to be represented by them, claiming she felt pressured to sign a representation agreement.
Houston Police open investigation
The Houston Police Department said in an April 2 tweet: “Today, a complainant filed a report with the Houston Police Department concerning Deshaun Watson. As with any allegation, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment further during the investigative process.” The department didn’t say anything further when reached by Complex Sports on Tuesday, and pointed to this tweet.
After the department’s tweet, Waton’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said in a press release: “We welcome this long overdue development. Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser. We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department.” Hardin’s rep did not respond to Complex Sports’ request for comment.
Buzbee said at the press conference that two women who sued Watson, one of whom was Solis, filed police reports about the incidents. Buzbee said the women did so without his intervention, the Chronicle stated. The Harris County, Texas, prosecutor’s office did not respond to Complex Sports’ request seeking comment.
A spokesman for the league told Complex Sports in an email: “The allegations are deeply disturbing and we take these issues very seriously. Immediately following news of the first allegations last month, and as has been reported, we initiated an investigation under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. We are continuing to closely monitor all developments in the matter.”
Complex Sports has learned the NFL has been in contact with Buzbee.
According to ESPN, Texans management also commented about the allegations in its spring letter to season-ticket holders. “We want to assure you that we take these allegations very seriously,” the letter reportedly said. “While we await the conclusion of these investigations, we express our strong stance against any form of sexual assault.” This missive also stated: “Our family and the entire Houston Texans organization are deeply troubled by any form of abuse and we condemn this type of behavior.”
The outcome will not be immediate
Meredith J. Duncan, assistant dean for diversity, inclusion, and metropolitan programs at the University of Houston Law Center, told Complex Sports that police will investigate a complainant’s report. Then police will decide to forward their findings to prosecutors.
At that point, prosecutors will determine whether they think there’s probable cause for a possible felony, if that’s what they believe the allegations amount to. Basically, this means whether there’s enough information for them to present the allegations to a grand jury for a possible indictment.
If prosecutors think there’s enough to go on, and present it to the grand jury, it’s up to the panel to decide whether to issue an indictment.
For the police investigation, generally, they would seek out witnesses, talk to the complaining witness—the person who filed a report—and the alleged victim if they’re different people. (The person who files a report doesn’t necessarily have to be the alleged victim.)
In sexual assault cases, when only the accuser and suspect are present during the alleged incident, “it can be difficult” to prove the allegations in a court of law, Duncan said. So police “would investigate not just the victims’ statements, but also try to determine whether there are other bits of information that might have other evidentiary value.” This could include an outcry witness—basically, a person whom the accuser confided in at some point after the incident—as well as correspondence between an accuser and the suspect, among other information.
Police are going to be especially interested in any potential communications, as “it may help to establish the accused’s state of mind at the time. It may reflect that he felt he’d done something wrong.”
Remember: Some accusers have said that Watson contacted them, trying to reach a settlement before any court proceedings happened. Watson’s lawyer denied that Watson reached out in an attempt to settle their claims, per Sports Illustrated.
Watson maintains his innocence
Watson adamantly denied abusing women in a March 16 tweet. “As a result of a social media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff’s lawyer, I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me. I have not yet seen the complaint, but I know this: I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” he wrote in a note comprising his tweet. “The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing the suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me—it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.”
Hardin also claimed in a press release last week that his firm “has received dozens of unsolicited phone calls, letters, emails and text messages from professional massage therapists who have worked with Deshaun Watson” from women who say “they are deeply troubled by the accusations made against Deshaun and that these claims are wholly inconsistent with their experiences with him and who they believe him to be.”
“All of them stated that Deshaun never made them feel uncomfortable or demanded anything outside the scope of a professional massage. None of them experienced any of the behavior alleged by anonymous plaintiffs in the numerous lawsuits filed by the same Houston attorney,” Hardin’s release said.
The press release included statements from 18 named women supporting Watson. Buzbee has called out one of these women, however, claiming that she knew about his alleged inappropriate behavior, according to NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk.