Editor’s 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.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, released a statement about the 23rd active civil lawsuit regarding sexual misconduct that came out against Watson on Tuesday.
The plaintiff, Nia Smith, allegedly had three different encounters with Watson in 2020: on June 7, Aug. 24 and “in late August or early September.” The filing detailed how the quarterback’s “behavior grew worse during every massage.”
Similar to several of the other civil lawsuits, the plaintiff was contacted via Instagram, according to the lawsuit, and she had not previously worked with any Texans players. During the first massage on June 7, the quarterback “kept demanding Plaintiff to go inside of his anus,” according to the lawsuit.
It escalated to Watson grabbing Smith’s buttocks and repeatedly “asking Plaintiff if she wanted his penis in her mouth” during the second session, per the petition. During the third, he “repeatedly requested that Plaintiff have sex with him,” telling her that there was a condom in his bag, according to the petition.
In Hardin’s statement released Tuesday, he said Watson continues to deny all the allegations against him, including the new allegations from Smith.
“Deshaun Watson vehemently denies the allegations, just as he has since she first discussed them with members of our firm in March of last year,” Hardin said. “She repeated the allegations on social media in August and he denied them then. The only thing new about her contentions is the embellishment making them more extreme than prior versions. Deshaun’s denial remains the same.”
Additionally, Hardin said that two lawyers from his firm, Letitia Quinones and Rachel Lewis, denied any “coercion or intimidation” with Smith, as the plaintiff described. According to the original petition filed, which can be seen on the Harris County District Clerk’s website, Smith was one of the first women Watson’s legal team reached out to when the news broke. The lawsuit describes that “in an effort to intimidate her,” one of Watson’s lawyers said to the plaintiff “that they were going to fight the cases to the fullest extent. She also insisted that us Black women must stick together.”
But, Hardin says that this claim is “absurd,” and that his team would not have said that to Smith.
Hardin ended his statement with an assumption that Smith has a “vendetta” against Watson after “jealously and angrily” publishing the quarterback’s personal data on social media.
He also called out the plaintiffs’ attorney, Tony Buzbee, by saying this new lawsuit is just for “publicity.” The NFL is continuing to investigate Watson to determine whether or not he will be suspended and/or punished further for the 2022 season.
“In filing her lawsuit now she was obviously not influenced by recent developments,” Hardin said. “We are not surprised Mr. Buzbee was willing to say just about anything to get more publicity. He knows the NFL continues to investigate these cases, and this is a transparent attempt to further punish the main he sees as a potential payday.”
Two plaintiffs, Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes, gave their first national TV interviews with HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, which aired last Tuesday. According to the documents, the segment on the quarterback changed the plaintiff’s mind about filing a lawsuit, including Watson’s comment about having “no regrets.”
The Browns quarterback is facing 22 other active civil lawsuits filed by massage therapists, 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.”
Although the civil lawsuits are still ongoing, Cleveland traded for Watson in March and signed him to a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. During his introductory press conference with the Browns, Watson denied assaulting, harassing or disrespecting any woman.
Watson previously faced multiple criminal complaints; however, he is not facing charges following two separate grand jury hearings. On March 11, a Harris County grand jury returned nine “no” decisions on nine criminal complaints against Watson. A Harris County prosecutor said that the decision concluded criminal proceedings against him in that county, and Watson was traded shortly afterward. A grand jury in Brazoria County declined to charge Watson on a 10th count on March 24.
As far as the league investigation, commissioner Roger Goodell revealed last Tuesday that the league is “nearing the end of the investigation” into Watson. However, no timeline was provided on when a ruling would be issued by the disciplinary officer.
