Miami (AFP) – Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson “strongly denies” the sexual assault allegations made in a civil lawsuit, the player’s attorney said on Wednesday. The lawsuit filed in Texas alleges that Watson sexually assaulted a woman at her apartment in October 2020; the case is also being reviewed by the NFL.
“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,” attorney Rusty Hardin, who is representing Watson, 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,” added Hardin.
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The lawsuit says that while the woman was in her bathroom putting on makeup, she emerged to discover Watson lying face down and naked on her bed. The NFL star asked her to massage his buttocks, and when she began to rub his back, he then turned over and asked her to massage his groin. Before she could reply, Watson “partially disrobed” the woman and sexually assaulted her before “storming out” of her apartment.
Watson was previously suspended for 11 games and fined $5 million in August 2022 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy following accusations by 25 women of sexual misconduct during personal massage sessions. He subsequently reached settlements with 23 of his accusers. The woman in the latest case was not part of the 2022 allegations. Watson lived in Texas when he was quarterback with the Houston Texans. He was traded to the Browns in March 2022, becoming one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
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