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Deshaun Watson told reporters he was “surprised” by the latest lawsuit that accused the Browns quarterback of sexual assault minutes after his lawyer rejected the claims Wednesday.
“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,” attorney Rusty Hardin said in a statement to Front Office Sports and other outlets. “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.”
A woman, referenced only as Jane Doe, alleged in the lawsuit filed in Harris County, Tex., that Watson sexually assaulted her inside her apartment in 2020. The NFL—which suspended Watson for 11 games and fined him $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy—has initiated an investigation into the latest claims, but did not place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list.
Watson said he had no knowledge of the latest lawsuit until it was reported in the media Monday. That claim led Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee—who represented nearly all the women since the first lawsuit was filed against Watson was filed in March 2021—to issue his own statement Wednesday.
“We reached out to attorney Rusty Hardin’s office for ten months in an attempt to resolve this case,” Buzbee said on his Instagram account. “Mr. Watson was well aware of this victim and her claims immediately after it occurred and Watson was again reminded back when we filed the first lawsuit for the other multiple victims.”
While Watson settled with 23 women, the Monday lawsuit brings the count of active civil cases against him to three, according to court records. Separately, the Texans settled with 30 accusers in June 2022.
In March of that year, the Browns had dealt three first-round picks to Houston for Watson, who then signed a “fully guaranteed” five-year, $230 million deal after the trade.
But Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday that there are some caveats to that guaranteed money. In the contract, which SI reported was labeled “March 2023”—Watson restructured his contract last year—Watson could be considered to be “in default of this Contract” if he again is suspended under the league’s personal conduct policy or if it is “reasonably believed by Club [that Watson has] engaged in personal conduct that materially and adversely affects or reflects on Club or has his contract terminated for engaging in personal conduct that reasonably judged by Club to materially and adversely affect or reflect on Club.”
Buzbee said in his statement his office has “heard from the NFL” and “will respond in due course.”
“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,” Hardin’s statement continued. “We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course.”
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