This morning, the attorney representing the women who filed sexual misconduct lawsuits against Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson announced that Watson had reached settlements with 20 of the 24 women.
Tony Buzbee, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that the amounts and terms of the settlements were confidential but that once those specific cases were finalized, they would be dismissed.
“We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements,” Buzbee said in a statement. “Once we have done so, those particular cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We won’t comment further on the settlements or those cases.”
The first allegation against Watson was made in March 2021 by Ashley Solis. That was followed by a wave of other lawsuits by other women against Watson.
Solis, it should be noted, is one of the 20 women who did not settle.
At the time, he was with the Houston Texans but missed the 2021 season due to the allegations and resulting lawsuits.
Almost a year later, Watson was shipped to the Browns in a blockbuster trade that shocked the NFL community, particularly because the Browns were reportedly out of the running for the star QB.
The offer was one the Texans couldn’t refuse and one the Browns were thirsting to make after a grand jury in Harris County, Texas, declined to indict him on criminal charges.
In exchange for Watson, a sixth-round pick and the drama surrounding their QB, the Texans received the 13th and 107th picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, a first and third-rounder in 2023 and a first and fourth-rounder in 2024.
Then, even more shockingly, they signed Watson to a fully-guaranteed, five-year $230 million deal.
But the drama didn’t end there.
While everyone debated what the NFL’s punishment would be, additional claims against Watson surfaced and Buzbee said he planned to add the Texans as a defendant after a NY Times’ story showed that the team provided the venue for some of Watson’s appointments.
As of Tuesday, Houston had not been added to the suits.
While we don’t know why the four women declined to settle, we do know some of the details according to Solis’ claim.
She claimed that Watson purposely touched her with his “exposed and erect penis” during a massage appointment in March 2020.
In a deposition, Watson admitted Solid became “teary-eyed” and that after he left he texted her an apology for making her feel uncomfortable. Nine months later, she started working with Buzbee’s law firm.
“Without Ashley Solis, the conduct experienced by these women would likely have continued unfettered,†Buzbee said in today’s statement.
He also mentioned that he looked forward to trying the cases of the four remaining clients.
In the meantime, we await the NFL’s decision as they are currently investigating whether he violated the league’s code of conduct.
In response to today’s news, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that, “today’s development has no impact on the collectively bargained disciplinary process.”
We will continue to keep you updated as the situation develops.
