Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is in the midst of what appears to be a very serious legal battle.
It all started last week, when a single massage therapist came out and accused him of being inappropriate with her.
Then came another. And another. In total, 16 lawsuits have already formally been filed against Watson – with as many as eight other women potentially out there preparing to do the same.
Leaked text messages allegedly involving Watson and one of the women also paint a troubling picture.
To date, Watson has offered just a single bizarre excuse for the allegations made against him. His girlfriend Jilly Anais, who is normally very vocal on social media, has also been oddly silent.
Although most of the newly released information is deeply damaging to Watson’s reputation, a troubling report was released this week regarding one of the women involved.
According to Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin (via the Boston Globe), one of the women making claims against Watson previously tried to blackmail him.
“Hardin alleges that in January, the woman demanded $30,000 in exchange for her ‘indefinite silence’ for a consensual encounter she had with Watson,” the Boston Globe noted. “Hardin provided a sworn affidavit from Bryan Burney, Watson’s marketing manager, who alleged he spoke with the woman, who told him she needed to be paid for her ‘silence.’
“In his affidavit, Burney alleges he also spoke with the woman’s ‘business manager’ and told him the demand for money ‘was extortion.’”
The business manager’s purported response? “It’s not extortion, it’s blackmail.”
According to Hardin, the effort on this one woman’s part to blackmail Watson “calls into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well.”
That answers that. https://t.co/giybknFbu8
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 22, 2021
Of course, while a blackmail attempt on one woman’s part would certainly be a serious red flag, how it “calls into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well” is unclear — unless similar blackmail attempts were made and have not yet been announced.
Furthermore, at a news conference last week, the attorney representing the accusers, Tony Buzbee, suggested that the women are suing for $500 in damages, which is the smallest amount that can be sought in a Texas civil district court.
How things will proceed from this point from a legal standpoint is anyone’s guess.
Now that Paige VanZant is done with the UFC, she can focus on the important things. https://t.co/5YLwWtLaGf
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 22, 2021
Football-wise, however, Watson’s increasingly perilous legal woes don’t seem to have impacted his stock any.
Two teams are currently “willing to give up everything” in a bid for Watson’s services.
At this point, it is clear that Watson is about to have a very busy next several months. What that will fully entail remains to be seen.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
