Yahoo Sports 2nd lawsuit filed against Texans' Deshaun Watson alleging sexual harassment, assault
HOUSTON — Less than 24 hours after a Texas woman filed a sexual harassment and assault civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson, a woman from Georgia filed a similar suit against the Houston Texans quarterback.
Both women are massage therapists and both suits allege similar behavior by Watson, with each alleged victim claiming that the quarterback arranged a massage by initially contacting them through his Instagram account, then touched the women with his genitals during the sessions without their consent. Both alleged victims are represented by the same Houston attorney, Tony Buzbee, who claimed on his Instagram account Wednesday that his office would be filing four civil suits from four different women.
While the first lawsuit claimed that the massage took place in the home of the first alleged victim in March 2020, the second suit detailed Watson allegedly flying a second massage therapist from her home in Atlanta to meet him in a suite at the Houstonian Hotel in August of 2020. According to claims in the second suit, Watson undressed and got on the massage table completely nude, then resisted using a towel during the massage because “he gets hot easily.” The allegations go on to claim that Watson “kept aggressively redirecting the Plaintiff towards his anus” and “to go higher and higher towards his penis.” At one point during the session, the filing states that “Watson moved in her direction, causing Plaintiff’s hand to touch Watson’s genitals.”
The suit goes on to claim that the alleged victim stopped the massage and said she needed to leave, at which point “Watson grabbed her hand and started to rub her arm, pulling her towards him, saying ‘it is okay, it is okay.’" According to the filing, the alleged victim insisted she needed to leave for the airport and exited Watson’s room after he adjourned to a shower. The suit claims that Watson paid for only half of the session and that the alleged victim didn’t seek the other half of the payment.
Similar to the first woman’s filing, the second victim is seeking a jury trial after a period of discovery, including a venue of Harris County for the proceedings. It also seeks a wide range of “exemplary” damages in relation to the alleged incident, including past and future for: pain and suffering, physical impairment, “enjoyment of life and peace of mind,” “medical, counseling, psychiatric, therapeutic and related expenses” and loss of earnings. It also asserts that the alleged victim “made a good faith effort to resolve this matter prior to the filing of this lawsuit.”
Watson refuted claims after the filing of the first suit Tuesday, posting a message on his social media accounts in which he said he intended to clear his name and that he has “never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect.”
A source close to Watson told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that he will be represented by prominent attorney Rusty Hardin, who has handled several defenses of NFL players in Texas in recent years, including running back Adrian Peterson and defensive end Michael Bennett. A source from the Texans said the team learned of the separate allegations against Watson on Tuesday and Wednesday through social media and media reports. The NFL has declined to comment on the suits.
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