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Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns quarterback, has reached settlements with 20 of the 24 girls who’ve filed sexual misconduct lawsuits towards him, the lawyer Tony Buzbee introduced Tuesday morning. In an announcement, Buzbee, who represents Watson’s accusers, mentioned that the phrases and quantities of the settlements have been confidential and that these circumstances could be dismissed as soon as finalized.
The primary public allegation towards Watson of sexual misconduct throughout a therapeutic massage appointment was made in March 2021, leading to an onslaught of lawsuits filed by extra girls. Buzbee mentioned that Ashley Solis, who filed the preliminary lawsuit, was one of many 4 girls who had not settled.
The accusations towards Watson concerned therapeutic massage appointments he had when he performed for the Houston Texans. He was traded to Cleveland in March after a grand jury in Harris County, Texas, declined to indict him on felony expenses. The Browns gave Watson an unprecedented, absolutely assured five-year, $230 million contract.
However Watson has confronted extra stress in latest weeks, with two new girls submitting lawsuits towards him. Buzbee additionally mentioned that he deliberate so as to add the Texans as a defendant after a New York Occasions investigation confirmed that the group offered the venue Watson used for among the appointments and furnished him with a nondisclosure settlement. As of Tuesday, Buzbee had not added the Texans to the fits, and it was not clear if the group was a celebration to the settlements. The Texans didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The settlements come because the N.F.L. is contemplating self-discipline for Watson beneath its private conduct coverage. League investigators interviewed Watson for 4 days final month, which is usually one of many ultimate steps within the course of. N.F.L. spokesman Brian McCarthy mentioned that the settlements had “no affect on the collectively bargained disciplinary course of.”
Buzbee referred to Ashley Solis as “one of many heroes of this story.” In her lawsuit, Solis mentioned that Watson purposely touched her along with his uncovered and erect penis throughout a March 2020 therapeutic massage appointment. Watson admitted in a deposition that Solis grew to become “teary-eyed,” and after he left, he apologized over textual content for her feeling “uncomfortable.” Solis reached out to trade colleagues in addition to legal professionals for recommendation on how to answer what had occurred, and in December 2020, she was related with Buzbee’s legislation agency.
“With out Ashley Solis, the conduct skilled by these girls would doubtless have continued unfettered,” Buzbee mentioned in his assertion. He added that he seemed ahead to attempting the circumstances of Solis and the three different girls who haven’t settled “in the end.”
Supply: NY Times
