Publisher’s note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or in https://www.rainn.org.
On Tuesday, The New York Times’ Jenny Vrentas released a new report that found Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson booked massage therapy sessions with 66 women over a span of 17 months. He also discovered that a Houston-based spa and the Texans “enabled” his massage habit and that the franchise provided facilities and non-disclosure agreements for his sessions. The former Texans quarterback apparently responded to the article in an Instagram story posted Tuesday.
The 26-year-old quoted the song “Rich Off Pain” and included the lyrics: “Look blogs can’t bring me down, look I’m the voice, I don’t talk back. But the rumors that you have already heard, I humbly deny, yes, yes.”
Watson faces 24 active civil lawsuits filed by massage therapists, each detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurred during massage therapy sessions. 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.”
The quarterback denied assaulting, harassing or disrespecting any women during his introductory news conference with Cleveland in March.
The report’s findings appear to contradict previous claims made by Watson that he scheduled appointments with 40 different massage therapists during his five seasons with Houston. Vrentas found that the 66 women were booked between fall 2019 and spring 2021. Some of the 66 women reported similar problematic behavior from the former Texans quarterback.
He also discovered that A New U Spa helped Watson by setting him up with therapists who were not licensed to perform massage in the state of Texas. Four spa employees sued Watson, including the 23rd plaintiff who filed a lawsuit against Watson on May 31. The latest petition claimed that the spa “provided” women for the quarterback.
“Dionne Louis, the owner of the spa, provided massages for Watson and knew that Watson was attempting to have sex with them,” the suit says. According to Cash App receipts and text messages included in the petition documents, “Watson paid Dionne Louis at least five thousand dollars for Louis’ ‘work’.”
By The times, The Texans also reportedly provided Watson with NDAs that he began taking to massage therapy sessions and also gave Watson “a spot” at The Houstonian, an exclusive club and hotel. She reportedly used hotel rooms for massage therapy sessions where she met at least seven women.
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According to The times, two of the women giving massages at The Houstonian filed civil lawsuits and two complained to police. Watson said to her knowledge the Texans were not aware of the massage therapy sessions at the hotel, although one woman said she was told the room where she gave Watson a massage was registered to a member of the team training staff.
After the launch of HBO real sports segment in late May, a 23rd lawsuit against Watson surfaced, with the plaintiff citing that the segment and Watson saying she has “no regrets” changed her mind. Rusty Hardin, Watson’s attorney, released a statement after the 23rd lawsuit was filed and continued to defend her client.
“Deshaun Watson vehemently denies the allegations, just as he has done since he first discussed them with members of our firm in March of last year,” Hardin said. “She repeated the accusations on social media in August and he denied them then. The only thing new about her storylines is the embellishment that makes them more extreme than previous versions. Deshaun’s denial remains the same.”
On June 6, a 24th lawsuit was filed detailing an account similar to the other 23 lawsuits against Watson.
Watson previously faced multiple criminal complaints but is no longer facing charges following two separate grand jury hearings. A Harris County grand jury returned nine negative decisions on nine criminal complaints against Watson in March, and a county prosecutor said the decision concluded criminal proceedings against him in that county. On March 24, a grand jury in Brazoria County declined to indict Watson on a 10th count.
Despite ongoing civil lawsuits, the Browns traded Watson in March following the Harris County grand jury’s ruling, signing him to a massive five-year contract worth a guaranteed $230 million. He set a new record for the highest guaranteed contract in history. A clause built into the contract will see Watson lose just $55,556 for every game he skips this season, since he’ll only make $1 million in 2022.
The league is currently investigating Watson, with commissioner Roger Goodell saying in late May that the league is “near the end of the investigation,” though no timeline was provided for when the disciplinary officer would issue a decision.
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Reference-www.si.com