DeShaun Watson is at the centre of another lawsuit, as a woman has filed an accusation against the suspended Cleveland Browns quarterback.
The lawsuit, which is the 26th to be filed against the NFL star, alleges that Watson pressured her into oral sex during a massage session in 2020. All plaintiffs have accused Watson of inappropriate sexual misconduct or sexual assault during massages, and the 27-year-old is believed to have made confidential settlements with 23 of the 24 women.
The latest lawsuit, which was filed in Harris County, Texas, accused Watson of messaging the woman on Instagram with a direct message for a massage at a hotel room in Texas, December 2020. Watson was said to have 'continually pressured [the plaintiff] into massaging his private area' before he 'removed his towel' and 'offered to let her 'get on top.'
According to the lawsuit, the woman 'refused to have sex with Watson, however, he was able to pressure her into oral sex' and ' £266 was offered for her services', although her normal charge was £100 for an hour massage. The plaintiff has claimed to have suffered from 'severe depression and anxiety' since the alleged incident.
The woman's lawyer, Anissah Nguyen, spoke to ESPN regarding the lawsuit, and said: "My client's experience with Deshaun Watson follows a series of disturbingly similar encounters reported by more than 20 women who have filed suit against the NFL superstar. Like so many others, my client spent nearly two years struggling to cope with the shame and trauma from all that he has stolen from her and the daily pain that has become her reality.
"Knowing her story will bring on the hard conversations, criticism and even victim-blaming, the strength and bravery of these other women gave my client the courage to stand up and speak out. She seeks justice not only for herself and her own healing, but for the more than 20 women who refused to be shamed into silence, and the victims who have yet to come forward."
Watson is still serving an 11-game suspension for going against the NFL's personal conduct policy by 'committing sexual assault on massage therapists', the NFL has defined. And back in August the NFL and NFL Players Association reached a settlement on Watson's suspension.
The NFL star was fined He was also fined £4.45million and has had to undergo a mandatory treatment program.
The other two women filed criminal complaints against Watson but did not choose to sue him. The Houston Texans, Watson's former side, reached settlements with 30 women who either made claims or were prepared to make them against the NFL organisation.
According to The New York Times, the Texans had arranged for Watson to see massage therapists in a Houstonian hotel room, which is where many of the alleged offences could have taken place. Despite all of the settlements and the continued lawsuits, Watson still claims he is innocent.
"I'll continue to stand on my innocence, just because, you know, settlements and things like that happen doesn't mean that a person is guilty for anything," Watson said in August. "I feel like a person has an opportunity to stand on his innocence and prove that, and we proved that from a legal side, and just going to continue to push forward as an individual and as a person."
