Last month Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson settled 20 of the 24 claims filed against him by women accusing him of sexual misconduct.
Today, almost a month later, the Houston Texans have followed suit and reached settlements with 30 of the women who filed claims against the former Texans star.
Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing the women, released the following statement:
“Today all of the women who have made, or intended to make, claims against the Houston Texans organization have resolved their claims. The terms of the settlements, to include the amounts paid each, are confidential. I will have no further comment on the allegations or the Texans’ alleged role, other than to say that there is a marked contrast in the way in which the Texans addressed these allegations, and the way in which Watson’s team has done so. As has been previously reported, only one of the thirty women who made allegations against the Texans filed a formal lawsuit. That particular lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice as soon as the appropriate settlement paperwork is complete.”
Texans owners Janice, Hannah and Cal McNair issued a statement of their own:
“We were shocked and deeply saddened when we first learned of the allegations against our then franchise quarterback in March 2021.
Although our organization did not have any knowledge of Deshaun Watson’s alleged misconduct, we have intentionally chosen to resolve this matter amicably. This is not an admission of any wrongdoing, but instead a clear stand against any for of sexual assault and misconduct.
We hope that today’s resolution will provide some form of closure to the parties involved, our fans and the Houston community at large. As an organization, we will now turn our focus to the future and doing what we can to ensure respect for all.”
The Texans faced lawsuits from six additional women than their former quarterback did. They haven’t been identified and Buzbee declined to offer any additional information about them.
While the Texans denied any knowledge of Watson’s actions with the massage therapists, a blistering NY Times story countered that claim.
In that story, the Times wrote that the team provided the hotel where Watson had some of his massages. The story also claimed that a Texans employee provided Watson with an NDA that Watson used in his appointments, and that he booked appointments with at least 66 therapists between 2019 and 2021, much higher than Watson’s claim of roughly 40 therapists.
“We believe the Texans organization was well aware of Watson’s issues, but failed to act,” said Buzbee at the time. “They knew or certainly should have known. The Houston Texans organization provided rooms for Watson at the high-end Houstonian hotel for his ‘massages’ and also provided massage tables and other support for Watson’s proclivities — ostensibly to protect their ‘asset.'”
While the world awaits the NFL’s punishment decision, the four remaining claimants are moving forward with their lawsuits against Watson.
“The four filed cases against Deshaun Watson will continue. We hope to try them all in the spring of next year. In the mean-time we will continue to do the important work to prepare for such,” said Buzbee.
