What We Know About the Deshaun Watson Sexual Misconduct Allegations so Far

CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 15: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans warms up prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 15, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

In a March 16 lawsuit, this woman said that Watson contacted her in late March 2020, asking to schedule a massage. Like other women who have filed suits against Watson, she “found it somewhat peculiar that a NFL player would request a massage from her, because she is not yet a well-known masseuse and it was her belief that a player like Watson likely had access to an entire team of trainers and the like,” according to the lawsuit. But she was trying to grow her business, and so she agreed. 

Before their scheduled March 30 session at her house, he asked if “she was going to be alone,” court papers state. When Watson arrived, she left him in the room. After she went back in, he was on the massage table, “completely naked with only a small towel covering his groin area.” He had brought this towel. He “aggressively” told her how to perform the massage, instructing her “only to use her hands,” and “repeatedly stated that he wanted her focus to be on his groin area.” Less than a half hour later, she felt very uncomfortable, as “it became apparent that Watson wanted a massage for only one reason—sex,” court papers state. 

Watson “continued to aggressively attempt to steer the conversation to how [she] was not rubbing him the way he wanted. Several times he specifically kept trying to direct her to his penis. At one point, he purposely exposed the tip of his penis from under the towel. Watson was at this point fully erect, and moved his body so he could expose himself more. As a result of his moving of his hips, Watson purposely touched the Plaintiff’s hand with the tip of his erect penis,” court papers state. 

She stopped the massage and asked him to leave. He responded: “I know you have a career and a reputation, and I know you would hate for someone to mess with yours, just like I don’t want anyone messing with mine.” She took Watson’s statement as a threat. He later texted her to apologize. Although she didn’t respond, she received direct messages on Instagram from two other pro football players several weeks later, who told her that “Big D” had referred them to her, the lawsuit states. 

In this March 18 lawsuit, a woman stated that she and Watson spoke on the phone after he contacted her, asking about a massage. He allegedly told her: “I make a lot of massage therapists uncomfortable and it’s really hard for me to find someone who will meet my needs.” Watson said he wanted massage work specifically targeting his glutes. The woman, who “routinely” provides massages to high-profile athletes, including NFL players, assumed it would be a professional session. 

Before their June 2 session started, Watson asked to shower. She left the room and when she came back, he was “completely naked, exposing his buttocks.” He repeatedly refused her requests to cover up and would “purposely move to knock the towel off.”

During the session, Watson “exposed his penis to Plaintiff several times. Watson laughingly told Plaintiff she could move his penis out of the way.” He wound up getting an erection. “Multiple times he moved his body in such a way to make his penis touch Plaintiff,” court papers maintain.

According to a lawsuit filed on March 17, Watson reached out to this woman, a single mom in Atlanta, in August 2020 about a massage. Watson allegedly flew this woman to Houston from Atlanta for an Aug. 28 massage session. Prior to the session, he told her “he wanted to specifically focus on his glutes and his groin area and asked if she was comfortable with working on those areas. He then asked about quads and the Achilles.” The woman “indicated she understood Watson’s requests.”

After arriving at the Houstonian Hotel, Club, and Spa, where Watson had a suite, he “immediately got completely nude on the massage table with his penis completely exposed. Plaintiff firmly told Watson that he needed to use a towel to cover himself as that was the appropriate way of conducting a professional massage. Watson refused,” per the lawsuit.

“Watson told her he ‘gets hot easily’ and for that reason he wanted to remain completely nude.” While she thought something was “off,” she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But shortly thereafter, “Watson kept aggressively redirecting Plaintiff towards his anus. Watson asked Plaintiff to use more and more oil on his anus.” She was uncomfortable. “Watson then got more specific and asked Plaintiff to work on the inner part of his anus,” the civil suit says. 

The woman ignored him and started to work on his inner thighs, but he got “more aggressive, now telling Plaintiff to go higher and higher, towards his penis.” She said no, but “Watson kept insisting, saying ‘come up more and go here towards his genitals.’”

“It was at this point that Watson moved in her direction, causing Plaintiff’s hand to touch Watson’s genitals.” He flipped onto his back, completely exposing his penis. She told him that he needed to cover himself. He refused to, and she stopped the session, saying she had to go. “Watson grabbed her hand and started to rub her arm, pulling her towards him, saying ‘it is okay, it is okay.’” The woman pulled away from Watson, reiterating that she needed to leave. Watson got into the shower and she left, the suit states. ​​​​​​​

In a March 18 lawsuit, one woman, who’s a licensed esthetician, said she had “several” interactions with Watson. The first was in September 2020 and the second in October 2020. The her boss said that Watson had reached out, asking for the woman’s photograph. Watson told her boss that he wanted to give her a massage. The woman thought this was “odd” and said no. 

The boss said that Watson asked for her phone number so he could directly schedule an appointment. They wound up scheduling an appointment; before he got there, Watson texted her “incessantly,” asking if anyone else was at the spa. He asked to use the spa’s back entrance. 

After he got there, the woman told him she was going to leave the massage room so he could disrobe. He said he did not want her to leave and insisted she stay. Although “bewildered by his contact,” the woman turned around so she wouldn’t see him naked, court papers allege.

Watson, who started complaining right away and “aggressively dictated the session,” asked if he could turn from his stomach onto his back. “When he flipped over, Watson had an erection and asked Plaintiff what she was going to do about his erection.” She told Watson that his behavior wasn’t appropriate, but that she was “scared and confused.” The session wound up ending “without further incident.” 

During their October 2020 appointment, however, Watson “escalated his behavior.” 

“During the session, Watson tried to put his penis in Plaintiff’s hand and asked Plaintiff if she would touch his penis,” court papers state. He “moved his body in a way that caused Watson’s penis to touch Plaintiff’s hand.” He also tried to kiss her on the mouth. She ended the session early and left. 

This woman, in her March 18 lawsuit, said that she and Watson agreed to an appointment, which would take place at the woman’s office in Houston. Although Watson was initially respectful, that “changed very quickly.” After the session started, Watson began “staring” at her “in a provocative manner and told her not to raise the towel so high.” He then started to pull the towel down in an effort to expose himself.

Watson told her to work his inner thighs. The woman said she didn’t do that kind of work, but he insisted they hurt, so she agreed. He eventually turned onto his back and she continued to work on the rest of his body. She thought the situation was weird, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. Watson left. Around Nov. 2, Watson texted her about another session. When he arrived, “Watson, without any notice, kissed Plaintiff.” 

She quickly left the office, went to her friend’s store next door, told the friend what had happened, and, after composing herself, went back into her office. Watson had already disrobed and “exposed himself.” She told him that wasn’t normal, but needed the business and money “as a single mom,” and continued with the session. 

She declined to massage his buttocks and genital area, but he “would also move his body in a way that would cause his penis to touch Plaintiff’s hand.” She declined his offer to pay more to massage those areas. He became upset and left, court papers allege. 

In a March 16 tweet, Watson vehemently denied abusing women. “As a result of a social media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff’s lawyer, I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me. I have not yet seen the complaint, but I know this: I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” he wrote in a note comprising his tweet. “The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing the suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me—it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.” 

Rusty Hardin, Watson’s lawyer, told ESPN after the first two lawsuits: “I’m real comfortable with the kind of person that Deshaun Watson is, and I don’t like to publicly comment until I get all the facts… the allegations are really inconsistent with the kind of person he is.”

Hardin released a statement Friday, which said: ““I’m extremely proud to represent Deshaun Watson and wholly stand behind him against what we believe are meritless allegations. However, we will wait to comment in detail until we’ve completed our review of the numerous, evolving allegations...We will respond next week and ask you to keep an open mind until we do so.”

The NFL told the Texans on Thursday that it was probing the allegations against Watson. In a statement Thursday, the Texans said they would cooperate, NFL.com reported. “The NFL informed us today that they will conduct an investigation into the allegations made in the civil lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson,” the Texans said. “We will stay in close contact with the league as they do.”

Asked for comment on the allegations, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department said: “We cannot confirm suspects who are not charged.” The Department doesn’t confirm investigations against any individual unless that individual is charged and or arrested, authorities also said.