Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org.
Former Secretary of State and avid Browns fan Condoleezza Rice is waiting to give her opinion on the Deshaun Watson situation given the ongoing investigations.
“I’m someone who believes you keep an open mind until all of the facts are evident,” Rice said, per The Plain Dealer. “I know the league is doing an investigation, the Browns have done an investigation. I will just wait to see what the outcome is. These are serious matters. I think every woman feels that these are serious matters, but hopefully people will get to the bottom of it and we’ll see where we are in a couple of months.”
Two dozen active civil lawsuits have been filed against Watson, each detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurred during massage therapy sessions. The accounts range from Watson allegedly refusing to cover his genitals to the quarterback “touching [a plaintiff] with his penis and trying to force her to perform oral sex on him.” The latest detailed that Watson masturbated and ejaculated on the plaintiff without her consent. And it’s expected that more could be on the horizon.
Watson has denied all allegations against him, and two Texas grand juries declined to indict him on criminal charges. On Tuesday, he deflected several questions to his attorneys, stating that he needed to wait for “all the facts” to come out and “go with the process” with his legal team. He was asked whether a report from The New York Times that he had booked massages with at least 66 different women over a 17-month period was accurate, to which he replied, “I don’t think so, from what me and my attorneys went through.”
The Times’ Jenny Vrentas revealed in the same investigation in question that a Houston spa and the Texans reportedly “enabled” Watson’s massage habit, specifically that the franchise provided nondisclosure agreements and facilities for his sessions. The team, though, said in a March 2021 statement that it “became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post.” It later added, “This is the first time we heard of the matter.”
The investigation also found that Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, and the prosecutors at the district attorney’s office on the QB’s criminal cases had extensive contact leading up to the two grand juries.
Tony Buzbee, who represents the plaintiffs, released a statement last week stating that he plans to add the Texans and “others” as defendants to the ongoing civil lawsuits filed against Watson.
Although there are ongoing civil cases filed against him, Cleveland traded for Watson shortly after the first grand jury concluded and signed him to a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. A clause was built into the contract where Watson will lose only $55,556 for every game he’s suspended this season.
Whether Watson will face a fine, a suspension or no punishment after the league’s investigation is unknown. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently said that the league is “nearing the end of the investigation,” but no timeline was provided on when the disciplinary officer would issue a ruling. It turns out, though, that there is a key date that could play a role in when the decision will come—June 30, the deadline for pretrial discovery in the 24 active civil lawsuits the quarterback is facing.
