"Perhaps occasionally there was a happy ending” - Deshaun Watson's attorney makes polarizing claims amid reports of 23rd lawsuit against Browns QB

Deshaun Watson finds himself in a spot of bother due to his legal team, particularly Rusty Hardin.

Hardin appeared on the local Houston radio program, Sports Radio 610, alongside fellow attorney Leah Graham, to discuss the QB's upcoming civil cases, and had the following to say:

I don’t know how many men are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps, occasionally, there was a happy ending. Maybe there’s nobody in your listening audience that that ever happened to. I do want to point out, if it has happened, it's not a crime. OK? Unless you are paying somebody extra or so to give you some type of sexual activity, it’s not a crime. . . . Doing something or saying something or being a way that makes you uncomfortable is not a crime.”

Not content with his efforts, Hardin later released a statement to clear up his earlier comments. But the damage was already done, and with that, so might be Deshaun Watson.

Tony Buzbee, the attorney acting on behalf of Watson's 22 accusers, immediately seized on Hardin's comments. They have left Buzbee with what looks like a clear run into the endzone for the victory. But in truth, this has been a mismatch from the beginning.

Disaster from day one, Deshaun Watson's haphazard efforts to clear his name

In the court of public opinion, where perception is reality, Team Deshaun Watson has been behind the 8-ball since day one. Buzbee made public appeals for victims to come forward, dominated the column inches and racked up TV appearances while Watson floundered, finally releasing a statement the day after the story broke.

At the time, the case count stood at just one. A week later, it was 14 and climbing. Team Deshaun Watson seemed to be caught off guard and adopted a say-nothing approach while Buzbee went on the attack.

As the cases made their way through the court system, the Browns QB had his feet up in Texas, having refused to play for his old team, the Houston Texans. Everything settled down until Team Deshaun Watson secured their first win, as multiple grand jurys decided not to indict the former Clemson star.

NFL teams took that to mean the worst of his problems were behind him, and a plethora of teams began to vie for the QB's attention. But his heart was always with the Browns, once they offered £230 million totally guaranteed.

That's when it began to go all wrong for the new Browns signal caller. There was initial backlash to the deal and criticism of his detached demeanour at the introductory news conference. Some of his accusers then spoke out on national TV and garnered public sympathy.

Major League Baseball then got involved, inadvertently, by demonstrating to the NFL how these matters should be dealt with, suspending Trever Bauer for 324 games after he was accused of sexual assault.

Which brings us back to Rusty Hardin's comments. The main concern is no longer the civil cases, it is the NFL's investigation and their findings. Many insiders have described these investigations as kangaroo courts, where criminality is not important.

The more public pressure builds, the longer the suspension could be for the new Browns franchise QB.