This week, seven women filed lawsuits against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson alleging sexual misconduct—including one woman who said the NFL star forced her to perform oral sex on him. The civil lawsuits, filed in Harris County, Texas District Court, describe a similar pattern. These women, who perform professional massage services for work, were contacted by Watson. They scheduled massage sessions. When these women showed up to the sessions, Watson ultimately engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior, court papers allege. The women described feeling scared; some described worrying about his physical size, while others expressed fear because of his prominence.
These lawsuits have also called out the NFL, saying it’s “notorious in its own right for a culture that fosters sexual harassment and sexual assault. Despite its lip service and a strong ad campaign to the contrary, many of its players have been accused of committing heinous sexual crimes against women. The NFL is no stranger to scandal, certainly when it comes to offenses against women.”
Watson has denied mistreating women. Here’s what we know about the allegations so far.
The alleged March 30, 2020 incident
The alleged June 2, 2020 incident
The alleged August 28, 2020 incident
The alleged September 9, 2020 incident
The alleged September 24, 2020 incident
A lawsuit filed on March 18 alleges that Watson contacted this woman in September. They scheduled a session that would take place at a room in a Houston salon on the 24th. She left the room before the session started so he could undress; when she got back, only his backside was covered with a small towel.
“Watson began to aggressively dictate how he wanted the session to go, and wanted Plaintiff to instead concentrate on his groin area,” the suit states. Watson then got on his back, and the towel “was now only covering his penis.”
“Watson stated several times that he wanted to remove the towel so he could be completely naked. Watson asked Plaintiff if he could be naked, and even asked Plaintiff if it was okay if he got aroused,” the suit charges.
She told him to cover himself and tried to professionally finish the session. At one point, however, Watson “became aroused and got an erection” and “he continued to move his body in a way that would repeatedly cause his penis to touch Plaintiff’s hand.” Shocked, she moved away. Still on his back, “Watson then ejaculated.” The woman left the room, court papers state.
The alleged October 19, 2020 incident
The alleged December 28, 2020 incident
In a lawsuit filed on March 17, the woman stated that Watson reached out to her in December and scheduled a massage session for the 28th of that month. She and her mom went to an office, as planned, and they set up the massage room. Her mom left and saw Watson enter the office building. The woman left Watson in the room so he could undress. When she came back, Watson was on the table with a tiny towel on his backside, according to court papers.
She “started getting uncomfortable but did not want to upset the much taller and stronger Watson who is 6’2 and weighs over 200 pounds,” the suit states. While she tried to keep the session professional, Watson “soon aggressively started dictating the massage and where he wanted Plaintiff to touch him on his body,” insisting on his “inner glutes” and “inner thighs.”
“Watson made clear, repeatedly, that he was a professional football player who could help or hurt her career.”
After Watson flipped onto his back, he “began to coerce” her “to massage his inner groin area.” She said she had a “special tool” she had to use, but he refused, saying he wanted this area massaged with her hands. Not long after he asked for his abs to me massaged, Watson “got more aggressive, forcefully telling her to move her hand down to his pubic area.”
“Watson instructed her to slide her hand across his genitals,” the suit says. The woman began shaking, and it was clear that she was scared. “Watson kept coercing and intimidating Plaintiff and it was at this point that Watson coerced Plaintiff to move her mouth towards his penis, forcing Plaintiff to perform oral sex on him,” the suit states. “Plaintiff did not consent to any of this conduct. Plaintiff blacked out for a few minutes from the fear,” court papers state.