As of March 18, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee had filed three lawsuits against the Texan quarterback. Deshaun Watson on behalf of three masseurs alleging misconduct and sexual assault. Now, Buzbee has filed a total of seven lawsuits and, as ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop writes, at least five more will be on the way.
No charges have been filed against Watson, but according to Barshop, Buzbee is pushing to change that. The attorney is scheduled to present affidavits and evidence Monday morning on the alleged misconduct to the Houston Police Department and the Houston DA, and will also ask a grand jury to consider the evidence.
Viously, obviously, this is part of Buzbee’s effort to increase his leverage in his civil lawsuits, and the fact that he is filing affidavits and evidence in the DA’s office does not mean that the DA believes these materials represent a probable cause to initiate criminal proceedings. Still, it is clear that this matter will not go away and Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, says an answer is being reached.
“I am extremely proud to represent Deshaun Watson and I am totally behind him against what we believe are baseless allegations.” Hardin said. “However, we will wait to comment in detail until we complete our review of Mr. Buzbee’s numerous and evolving complaints. We will respond next week and ask you to keep an open mind until we do.” (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX 26).
Until the lawsuits were filed, Watson had been in all the headlines for football-related reasons. He and the Texans played a chicken game for the Pro Bowler’s triple commercial demand, and as of March 19, even after the seventh lawsuit, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported that several clubs were still interested in changing a trade for Watson. . This includes eagles, whose interest had not been reported previously.
“We need to know more data before making a firm decision about a trade, but, yes, we are still interested” said an NFL executive. “How could you not be interested in Deshaun Watson being your quarterback? The man is an incredible talent.
Said another executive, “[w]hat that Deshaun Watson has been accused obviously does not match at all with what we have heard and know about him as a great person, but you can not ignore these serious accusations. What this means is making sure you are doing your homework and making sure you have all the facts before you get involved in business negotiations. There’s the NFL investigation, the court issues and you have to let it all play out and make an informed decision. Yes, we are still very interested in Deshaun Watson. What he has done on the pitch checks all the squares to see if the quarterback plays there ”.
If these allegations are not resolved in favor of Watson in the short term, you can expect the teams concerned to stop pursuing the signal call from the jeans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.