Deshaun Watson is eligible to return to the Cleveland Browns on November 14 after serving his six-game suspension from the league for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Watson was sued by 24 different women, all of whom were massage therapists, for sexual misconduct and harassment.
Watson has settled the vast majority of those lawsuits, but now faces a new lawsuit that details more than just inappropriate behavior from the star quarterback during a 2020 massage session in Houston, via News5Cleveland. The lawsuit, which can be read in full here, details an encounter similar to the vast majority of those who filed suit against Watson previously, with him reaching out to the woman, who filed the suit anonymously as Jane Doe, on Instagram to set up a massage at his hotel.
There, she claims he undressed fully aside from a towel and tried to get her to massage his private area, but this account also alleges that he tried to get her to have sex with him and, after she refused, pressured her into oral sex.
On or about December 18, 2020, Plaintiff met Defendant Watson at his hotel, the Houstonian, for a massage. When Plaintiff arrived and began setting up her table, Defendant Watson went into the bathroom, removed his clothes, and came out wearing only a towel. During the massage, Watson continually pressured Plaintiff into massaging his private area. At some point during the massage, Watson removed his towel and offered to let her “get on top.” Plaintiff refused to have sex with Watson, however, he was able to pressure her into oral sex with the Defendant. Watson paid [sic] $300 for her services, although her normal charge was $115 for an hour massage. After the incident, Watson continued to text Plaintiff and went so far as to request to see her again.
The woman that filed the suit is seeking “minimal compensatory damages” in the filing, noting that she seeks to prevent Watson from further conduct like she experienced.