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The New York Times has released an article containing grisly testimonies from massage therapists visited by Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson made those visits during his time with the Houston Texans.
The piece written by sports reporter Jenny Vrentas alleged that the quarterback visited at least 66 massage therapists in 17 months between 2019 and 2021. This contradicts his claim of having hired 40 masseuses in his five seasons in the NFL.
The article, which was released on Tuesday (7 June) also contained accounts of events from two women that Watson visited. This comes on the heels of another woman filing a sexual misconduct lawsuit against the quarterback.
One of the massage therapists that Deshaun Watson visited claimed that the quarterback wanted her to perform oral sex on him.
Her account of the events as told to the New York Times read:
"He was persistent in his requests for sexual acts during their massage, including “begging” her to put her mouth on his penis. “I specifically had to say, ‘No, I can’t do that,’” said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her family’s privacy."
The account continued:
"“And that’s when I went into asking him, ‘What is it like being famous? Like, what’s going on? You’re about to mess up everything.’”
Per the New York Times, the woman did not file a complaint against Watson nor is she suing the quarterback.
NYT article details another testimony against Deshaun Watson
The article also contained testimony from another woman, who also did not sue Deshaun Watson. She alleged that the quarterback initiated sexual contact in all three of their massage appointments. The testimony read:
"This woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, said in an interview she began by working on Watson’s back. But when he flipped over, she said his demeanor and voice changed, and he began aggressively dictating where he wanted her to touch him."
It went on to say:
"In their first session, she said he got into the happy baby yoga pose — on his back with his feet in his hands — and asked her to massage between his testicles and anus. She laughed off the request but said he grabbed her wrist and put her hand there."
The article continued:
"The woman said Watson twice initiated sexual intercourse, once by pulling down the scrubs she was wearing. She and Watson knew each other from around town and were on friendly terms, and she admitted she let him proceed with these sexual acts. 'I just didn’t know how to tell him no,' she said."
Deshaun Watson denied the allegations by posting a screenshot of lyrics from a Lil Baby song on his Instagram account. The lyrics read:
"See, the blogs can't break me down, see, I'm the voice, I don't reply. But the rumors y'all done heard, I'ma humbly deny, yeah, yeah."
The Browns quarterback deleted the post shortly after.
