The Texans have settled claims with all 30 women who accused former quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault during massage appointments, according to the plaintiff’s attorney and the football team.
The settlement comes weeks after a civil lawsuit was filed on June 27 in Harris County alleging the team was warned about Watson’s inappropriate behavior during massage therapy sessions several months before the franchise’s responded publicly.
“Today all of the women who have made, or intended to make claims against the Houston Texans organization have resolved their claims,” plaintiffs’ attorney Tony Buzbee said in a news release, adding the terms of the settlements are confidential.
“I will have no further comment on the allegations or the Texans’ alleged role, other than to say that there is a marked contrast in the way in which the Texans addressed these allegations and the way in which Watson’s team has done so.”
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The team’s ownership group — Janice, Hannah and Cal McNair — issued a statement Friday stating they were “shocked” when allegations first arose.
“Although our organization did not have any knowledge of Deshaun Watson’s alleged misconduct, we have intentionally chosen to resolve this matter amicably,” the statement said. “This is not an admission of any wrongdoing but instead a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct.
“We hope that today’s resolution will provide some form of closure to the parties involved, our fans and the Houston community at large. As an organization, we will now turn our focus to the future and doing what we can to ensure respect for all.”
The four remaining cases against Watson, Buzbee stated, will continue and, he hopes, tried in the spring.
See here for the background. I don’t know that I buy the team’s expression of shock over Watson’s alleged behavior, but that’s a moot point now. The team reached a settlement with all of the plaintiffs, which is indeed a thing Deshaun Watson could do; he’s most of the way there, but not all the way. We’ll see if anything changes before those remaining suits get to court. Sean Pendergast has more.