Lauren Baxley is not afraid and had a lot to say about Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns.
You may remember that Baxley was the second woman to identify herself last year as one of the 22 women who have filed a lawsuit against quarterback Deshaun Watson. From what was reported at the time, Baxley has worked with plenty of professional athletes before working with Watson. She has been in the profession for 11 years and has a great reputation.
Following the decision from two Texas grand juries to not go further with a criminal trial as well as the Browns trading for him, Baxley is now speaking out against Watson yet again.
According to The Daily Beast::
“The choice to not indict Watson on our testimonies — that were deemed “highly credible” by prosecutors and the detectives who worked our criminal cases — opened a floodgate of abuse, slander, and libel toward us on the internet. The worst of the women-haters came out, declaring the no-bills proof that we were “prostitutes” all along.
The day before the grand jury convened to hear our testimonial evidence, a person named Coby DuBose tweeted his speculation that we plaintiffs would be charged with “misdemeanor prostitution,” which would be “funny” for our lawyers. His purported evidence that we were sex workers was based on the fact that many of Watson’s victims work and reside in Houston. DuBose went so far as to claim that his vile lies were the “prevailing sentiment.” Drew Davenport, defense attorney and “Footballguys” staff member, responded to these tweets by saying, “Excellent stuff.” When the prosecutors and grand jury failed us, tweets and comments of that nature multiplied exponentially.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Baxley then took it a step further by accusing the fan base and the Browns of “evil” for pretending Watson has been deemed innocent. She then added to her statement by calling out an NBA player.
“A failure to charge or convict of a crime does not equate to innocence. Watson, his fans, and the Cleveland Browns pretending it does is not only ignorant, it is evil. I would include a certain NBA player along with the other disappointing excuses of men who in one breath may bring awareness to the struggles of marginalized Black women, and in the next praise the elevation of a man who abused dozens of them.
I would never expect a public figure to side with Watson’s victims. However, I do ask that anyone with a responsibility to uphold basic morality simply shut their mouths and log off Twitter when they are tempted to show him support.”
Baxley went on to say that the franchise is making the same mistakes she did when she first encountered Watson.
“The owner of the Browns insisted they “got comfortable” meeting Deshaun Watson before awarding him with his record contract. I will admit, Deshaun Watson also ensured I felt comfortable before he trapped and assaulted me in a massage session he had promised beforehand was going to be “professional” and “non-sexual.” That’s what ambush predators do. They disguise themselves as something they are not.”
Only time will tell if Deshaun Watson can rebrand himself or fall into the same situation in another city. One thing is for sure, this situation will forever be part of his story as we saw with Ben Roethlisberger who got reminded of his past by every single fan base years after the fact.
