NFL responds to new Deshaun Watson sexual assault allegations
The NFL has announced that it will investigate a sexual assault complaint against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
On Monday evening, it was announced that Watson is being sued for more than $1 million after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Texas four years ago.
Watson, who reached confidential settlements with 20 women in 2022 in sexual misconduct lawsuits, allegedly attacked the woman in her apartment.
“We are reviewing the complaint and will investigate the matter under our personal conduct policy,” the NFL said in a statement Tuesday.
According to TMZThe woman alleges Watson stripped naked and “demanded” the woman “massage his butt” before grabbing her and sexually assaulting her.
Deshaun Watson is being sued for more than $1 million after being accused of sexual assault
Watson has not publicly responded to the allegations.
In 2021, the then-Houston Texans star player faced 26 sexual assault lawsuits, 23 of which he has settled. The remaining cases are expected to be settled through civil proceedings.
Though he has not yet been criminally charged, the NFL has suspended him for 11 games during the 2022 season and fined him $5 million.
Watson signed the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history at the time when he signed a $230 million deal with the Browns. In 2022, the Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, to the Texans.
After spending most of his time in Cleveland sidelined by injury and his NFL suspension, he threw two interceptions and recorded six sacks in Sunday’s 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The woman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, also represented the more than two dozen other women who have accused Watson of sexual abuse. Buzbee told TMZ: “This is an extremely serious matter.”
“We intend to pursue this case with the same aggressiveness as we pursue the other cases. We want a jury trial.”
During the alleged altercation with Watson, the woman managed to escape, grabbing a “heavy piece of decorative material for self-defense” and demanding that the then-Texans quarterback leave her apartment.
The woman said she was afraid to report her interaction with Watson because she would be “subjected to humiliation and personal attacks” because of his celebrity.
After the more than two dozen women came forward, she was reportedly asked to remain silent because the other accusers were being “treated by Watson’s defense team and the public.”
After recently attempting to resolve the matter with Watson privately but failing to reach an agreement, the woman has now gone public.