I think it’s safe to say that Deshaun Watson’s offseason isn’t exactly going as planned.
After requesting a trade from the Houston Texans in January, the team has thus far refused to relinquish their franchise quarterback, creating an awkward standoff in the process. But Watson’s tumultuous offseason just took a turn for the worst, as ESPN and NBC Sports report that a third civil lawsuit has been filed against him alleging sexual assault.
From ESPN:
A third civil lawsuit filed against Deshaun Watson accuses the Houston Texans quarterback of sexually assaulting a massage therapist by allegedly forcing her to have oral sex with him in December 2020.
The lawsuit was filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee on Wednesday night and appeared on the Harris County district clerk’s website Thursday morning.
This is the third civil case filed against Watson this week. The previous two lawsuits were related to two separate incidents during which he is accused of committing “civil assault” by touching a massage therapist with his penis.
Oh, boy.
The third plaintiff alleges that as the massage in December continued, Watson became “more aggressive” and “coerced her to move her mouth toward his penis, forcing her to perform oral sex on him.” The plaintiff also states that she felt “intimidated and threatened” and “was afraid of what someone like Watson could do if she did not submit to his demands.”
“Watson’s behavior is part of a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable women,” the lawsuit reads. On Instagram, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee revealed that there are a total of six lawsuits that will be filed against the Clemson alum.
Watson took to Twitter on Tuesday night to declare his innocence after the first lawsuit was filed.
“I have not yet seen the complaint, but I know this: I have never treated any women with anything other than the utmost respect,” he tweeted. “The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing 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.”
Watson hasn’t made any other public statements pertaining to this matter since a third lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, while the Texans issued the following:
“We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night. This is the first time we heard of the matter, and we hope to learn more soon. We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will await further information before making any additional statements on this incident.”
The NFL has declined further comment at this time.
This is an ugly situation and we’ll keep you updated as this story develops.