Two of the cases included claims of sexual assault: Watson was said in both cases to have pressured women to perform oral sex during massages and was accused in one of also having grabbed a woman’s buttocks and vagina. Twenty suits were settled in June, and shortly before Robinson issued her ruling, Watson reached agreements with three more women, including Ashley Solis, a licensed massage therapist who filed the first claim against Watson in March 2021. Watson has reached settlements with all but one of the 24 women who filed civil lawsuits against him. The lawyer representing them, Tony Buzbee, said the women had largely echoed one another’s claims of sexual misconduct and coercive behavior against Watson. Twenty-four women accused Watson of assault in civil lawsuits filed in Harris County, Texas. During the 2020 off-season, he took part in a player-led video that urged the league to support protests by players, and after the police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, Watson marched with his family - Floyd grew up in Houston - in a downtown protest. Watson has been a leading voice among Black players who have protested racial injustice and police brutality. His acquisition divided Browns fans, some of whom welcomed the arrival of a star player, others who expressed concern about the allegations against him. Though still a member of the Texans, he ended up not playing at all in the 2021 season. The Texans said they had no intention of trading him, creating an impasse. But Watson, disenchanted by the team’s poor personnel moves and failure to uphold a pledge to include him in the search process for a new coach and general manager, requested a trade. In September 2020, he signed a four-year contract extension worth nearly $111 million guaranteed, tying him to the Houston Texans through 2025. Who is Deshaun Watson?ĭeshaun Watson, 26, is a star quarterback, one of the best in the N.F.L. had recommended that Watson be suspended indefinitely and that he have to wait at least a full season to apply for reinstatement, while the union and Watson’s representatives had argued for a lesser penalty. It was the first player disciplinary decision to be handled by the arbitration process established by the 2020 collective bargaining agreement and it bridged a wide gap between the penalty either side had pushed for in the case. His fine, as well as $1 million each from the league and his team, the Cleveland Browns, will be given to groups that work to prevent sexual assault. The penalties were the result of a settlement between Watson’s representatives from his legal team and the players’ union, and require Watson to undergo evaluation by behavioral experts, followed by a treatment program.
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