Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on Wednesday denied allegations revealed in a new lawsuit filed this week that he committed sexual assault and battery while on a date in 2020.
“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,” Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated. We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don’t intend to conduct our defense in the media.
“We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, Deshaun is going to focus his energy and concentration on football.”
Watson met with the media later on Wednesday and referred to his earlier statement on the matter.
“Everything that he put in that statement is exactly how I’m feeling and what we’re going through this process with,” Watson said.
The alleged victim’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement on Wednesday that he had attempted to reach a settlement with Watson for 10 months prior to filing the lawsuit. Watson told reporters that he was unaware of any potential settlement talks and that he learned about the accusations when “everyone else found out.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that Watson will start Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, while directing reporters to the team’s Tuesday statement that they will “respect the due process our legal system affords.”
Stefanski added that there was no consideration of sitting Watson and that he was not previously aware of the new allegations.
“We are 100 percent focused on Jacksonville, 100 percent focused on going on the road against a good football team, trying to find a way to get a W,” Stefanski said.
Watson told reporters on Wednesday that he currently is trying to focus on football and the Browns’ Week 2 game.
“I focus on keeping the main thing the main thing,” Watson said. “That’s when I walk into this building, focusing on being the best quarterback that I can be, on the game plan and trying to be better than we were last week so we can get a W.”
The new civil suit, filed on Monday in Houston, claims Watson exposed himself, requested a massage and sexually assaulted the victim before she was able to resist and get him to leave her apartment. Watson was on the Houston Texans at the time of the new allegations.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday that the league is investigating the complaint against Watson and will not place him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List as there have not been criminal charges filed.
In August 2022, the NFL suspended Watson for 11 games and fined him $5 million for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after more than 20 women alleged that Watson committed sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.
Watson reached confidential settlements with 23 of the 24 women in 2022. He has previously denied any wrongdoing and maintained that any sex with the women was consensual. Two grand juries in Texas declined to indict Watson in 2022 on criminal complaints filed by 10 women.
Watson was required by the NFL to commit to mandatory evaluation and treatment as part of his reinstatement.
Watson was asked Wednesday why the Browns organization or fans should trust him following the new allegations.
“I can’t speak for the fans. I can’t speak for anybody outside this building,” Watson said. “But I know that hearing from the Haslams and A.B. (general manager Andrew Berry) and those guys, I know that they tell me each and every day that they support me and they got my back and that they want me to focus on being the best quarterback I can be. That’s all I can do is just speak my truth, tell ’em the truth. They talked with my legal team and everyone that was a part of this whole process, and they [had] to make their decision, and that decision was to give me the opportunity to come be their franchise quarterback and help this team win.”
