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News emerged of a new civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson, which brought the total number of lawsuits against him to 23. This development was, in many ways, expected of a player who continues to face civil lawsuits and where accusers have come forward on the record.
That the Cleveland Browns chose to trade for him despite all the pending lawsuits, suggests a cavalier attitude to these serious allegations. After the latest lawsuit against the former Houston Texans star, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked his opinion. He said that he will let the legal process play out and referred back to the work the organization had done when looking into their new quarterback before signing him.
The latest lawsuit against Deshaun Watson and the response to it
The latest lawsuit against the quarterback comes from Nina Smith, who alleges a pattern of behavior that was sexually aggressive towards her during various massage sessions.
She alleges that he asked her to massage him inside his anal cavity, exposed his genitals, touched and groped her and also propositioned sex to her. She stated that she was so traumatized by the incident that she quit her job.
Watson, through his lawyer Rusty Hardin, denied the allegations, saying,
"Deshaun Watson vehemently denies the allegations, just as he has since she first discussed them with members of our firm in March of last year. She repeated the allegations on social media in August and he denied them then. The only thing new about her contentions is the embellishment making them more extreme than prior versions. Deshaun's denial remains the same,"
Where the role of the Cleveland Browns in this saga becomes even clearer is that this new lawsuit was inspired after the alleged victim watched a segment about the lawsuits on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel".
In it, two of the accusers, who have gone on record, expressed their mortification at the fact that the superstar had signed a record-breaking USD 230 million deal despite being accused in 22 such lawsuits. It inspired her to formally add her name to the group as well.
In addition to the civil lawsuit, the quarterback remains under investigation by the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell would not be drawn into the timeline, only saying that the disciplinary officer is looking into it and the investigations are nearing their end. But it seems that issues off the field are only mounting further for Watson.
