Warning: This story contains details about alleged sexual abuse.
In a story that seemingly continues to unfold every day, Deshaun Watson asked several massage therapists to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to appointments, and the NDA was written by the Texans’ director of security, According to a new report from Jenny Vrentas in the New York Times.
On Tuesday, Vrentas cited findings from depositions from the now-Browns quarterback’s civil lawsuits in which Watson faces an allegation of sexual assault and misconduct. In them, Watson said he was given an NDA by Brent Naccara, the Texans’ security director, which he said he used only for massage dates.
The form was reportedly placed in Watson’s locker days after Nia Smith, a massage therapist who filed the 23rd civil lawsuit against Watson on June 1, posted text messages and receipts from Watson’s Cash app on Instagram. . Smith said she “could really expose you” in reference to the QB in November 2020 after leaving A New U Spa, where Watson’s alleged assault on Smith took place.
In text messages obtained by The times, a masseuse told Watson that she wanted to keep her massage “professional and respectful.” Watson responded by saying that she had “an NDA I have a therapist sign” after explaining that she always keeps it professional. Watson reportedly took the form to massage therapists to sign. A woman who signed the NDA wrote in a lawsuit against Watson that she ended her session with him after he suggested a sexual act. The woman alleges that Watson told her that she would only get paid if he signed the form.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Deshaun Watson’s legal situation
The Texans also reportedly helped set up “a place” for Watson to get massages at a hotel in Houston, according to The Times report. At least seven women met Watson at The Houstonian, away from the team. Vrents writes. Two of those women filed civil lawsuits against Watson and two more filed complaints with police. The report said it’s unclear whether Texans knew how many massages they received.
In the statement, Watson was asked why he approached the former flight attendant who was taking massage therapy classes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic instead of any of the previous women he had used. Watson said, “because she needed massage therapy.” She was also asked if she could have used someone within the Texans organization and said that while it was “definitely possible,” she didn’t. He reached out to her on Instagram and wrote that he was “trying to support black businesses” and suggested they meet at The Houstonian.
Watson was asked about his lack of experience and repeatedly stated that “that was not a priority”.
During his first session with her, Watson reportedly asked her to “get up there.” The woman said she was uncomfortable with her instructions, but she “attributed it to her inexperience and she agreed to work with him again.” Watson allegedly ejaculated during the second date and then asked the woman for another massage later that day, wanting it to take place at the Houstonian. The woman agreed, at first, but then she told Watson that she couldn’t attend and eventually blocked her number.
Texans did not respond to specific questions about The times‘, but said that once they learned of the allegations against Watson in March 2021, they cooperated with the investigations and “will continue to do so.”
The number of different massage therapists employed by Watson also appears to be much higher than previously known. Watson previously stated that he hired 40 different massage therapists over five years in Houston, but The Times reported that between fall 2019 and spring 2021, the number is at least 66.
MORE: Browns defend decision to acquire Watson from Texans
Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, told The Times that Watson “continues to vehemently deny” the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Instead of answering specific questions in The Times report, Hardin said: “When the real facts are out, this issue will appear in a different light.”
Watson’s lawyers have maintained that Watson had consensual sexual contact with three women after the massages and that each encounter was initiated by the women, but when asked if that meant Watson never had sexual contact with other masseuses, Hardin did not respond. .
a woman that spoke to The Times anonymously but did not sue Watson, saying the quarterback asked him to massage around his testicles and anus during their first session and that after she laughed at the request, he forced her hand into the area. The unnamed woman said he had sex with Watson twice and said she let him continue, but she “didn’t know how to say no.”
MORE: Hardin says ‘happy ending’ after massage isn’t illegal, backs off comment
Hardin responded to the claims saying, “It would be irresponsible and premature for us to comment on vague details submitted by anonymous individuals.”
The Times report also found that Hardin had extensive communication with prosecutors around the criminal cases Watson was facing. Hardin and Johna Stallings, the Harris County sex crimes prosecutor handling Watson’s case, spoke 12 times on the phone and exchanged 24 text messages two months before two grand juries heard the case against Watson. Hardin and Stallings communicated by phone or text more than 12 times during the week of the hearing, according to The Times report.
A former Harris County prosecutor called that amount of communication “noteworthy.”
“There are some very well-known defense attorneys, like Rusty Hardin, who may have gotten a little more real estate in terms of time, but even given the fact that it was Rusty, that’s still a long time,” Njeri Mathis Rutledge, an ex, told her. the Times the prosecutor and current professor at the Houston Law School of South Texas.
Hardin defended the extensive communication, calling it “standard practice” for attorneys to work with prosecutors and law enforcement. Plaintiffs’ attorney Tony Buzbee and other attorneys for the women spoke to criminal prosecutors only once.
A spokesman for Kim Ogg, the Harris County district attorney, said prosecutors “vigorously reviewed all of the evidence and spoke extensively with the accusers.”
Two grand juries, one in Harris County and one in Brazoria County, decided not to bring criminal charges against Watson.
The NFL’s investigation into Watson remains ongoing, although commissioner Roger Goodell previously stated in May that the league is “near the end of the investigation.” The 24 civil lawsuits will not go to trial until after the 2022 NFL season.
Reference-www.sportingnews.com