8 of Deshaun Watson's accusers bragged about working with him, lawyer claims
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Attorneys for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson are responding to the 22 lawsuits levied against Watson over claims of sexual assault and misconduct during massage sessions.
His legal team, led by Rusty Hardin, said Monday, that it had uncovered evidence that numerous allegations were "simply not true or accurate," after Watson learned the identities of his accusers. In new court documents filed Monday, Watson also requested a jury trial.
On April 9, two judges granted Watson's attorney's request that 13 alleged victims suing the athlete had to identify themselves. Attorneys had also agreed to release a 14th name later in the day. Until then, only two women had been publicly identified.
Editor's note: ABC13 has decided not to publish the names of any of the accusers who have not publicly identified themselves outside of court documents.
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who is representing several of the women, previously said in a statement that "we were concerned about the safety of these plaintiffs, and asked the Watson team to agree to a protective order where the identities could be used in litigation, but not broadcast to the world."
In the court documents filed Monday, Watson's attorney's allege that:
- Eight plaintiffs bragged about working with Watson and praised him
- Seven plaintiffs were willing to work with him again after the alleged incidents. Attorneys allege that one woman contacted Watson "multiple times telling him that she was attracted to him and wanted to go out on dates with him."
- Three plaintiffs lied about the number of sessions they had with Watson
- Five plaintiffs told others they wanted to get money out of Watson.
- Five plaintiffs have scrubbed or entirely deleted their social media accounts
Hardin also elaborated on the claim that Solis wanted $100,000 to stay quiet over the allegations.
After filing Watson's answers to the claims, Hardin disclosed a statement, saying all the accusers have not been truthful about their claims. He said:
Today we answered the lawsuits filed against our client Deshaun Watson. Mr. Watson has been adamant that he did not engage in any improper conduct and we strongly believe him. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether we are saying that all 22 plaintiffs are lying about the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Watson is a resounding yes.
We and Mr. Watson take allegations of sexual misconduct against women very seriously, as we all should. We have waited to respond to the numerous allegations made by Mr. Buzbee and his clients until we could responsibly investigate. In the few days since his accusers' names have been revealed, as was required by Texas law, we are discovering an avalanche of false accusations.
Only two of these 22 lawsuits allege forced sexual activity, which Mr. Watson vehemently denies. In the case of [redacted], her business manager acknowledged to Mr. Watson's marketing manager that the contact was consensual, but she still wanted money. And in the case of [redacted], witnesses state that [redacted] was happy and excited after she massaged Mr. Watson. She lied about being alone at the spa with him. She knew there was a security guard present at all times when Mr. Watson was there.
In addition, she told witnesses that if Mr. Watson had paid her off, she would have supported him instead of suing him. I hope everyone will take a fair and measured look at these accusations as we go forward in these cases. We certainly welcome anyone with relevant information to contact us. We do not expect to make any other comment today. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
In response to Hardin's statement, Buzbee gave words of his own, taking exception to the accusers being called liars:
As fully anticipated and despite his lawyer's previous statements, Deshaun Watson's only defense is to call these brave women liars. The weak and vague allegations made in Defendant's response are demonstrably false. Watson can't deny he sought out anunusually high numberof women for massages on Instagram; he doesn't deny he insisted on being nude or nearly nude; he can't deny the massage sessions occurred; he can't deny he wanted more than a "massage"; and he hasn't credibly denied that something bad happened during the session-he instead claims that any sexual acts were consensual. Of course his definition of "consent" doesn't comport with that of everyone else. I have faith that the court process will sort out the truth as these matters progress.
SEE MORE: Alleged victim of Houston Texans' Deshaun Watson speaks publicly for 1st time
Last week, one of the women originally among the 22 lawsuits against Watson dropped her civil case due to privacy after the women's identities were revealed.
But that same week, a new civil lawsuit was filed, bringing the number back to 22.
Click through this immersive experience to read about each of the 22 lawsuits. For a better experience on the app, click here to see the experience on its own page.
The video above is from previous reporting on the lawsuits against Deshaun Watson.
