According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, one of the 22 lawsuits filed against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been dropped. The update on it came last night when Tom Pelissero said Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin indicated one of the women accusing Watson of sexual misconduct had dropped her civil lawsuit.
“Texans QB Deshaun Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, tells me one of the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct has dropped her civil lawsuit. “We believe we have names for 20 of the 22 lawsuits. We’ve got one dismissed and we’re looking for one (name).”
“Judges ruled last week 14 of Watson’s accusers needed to reveal their identities in court filings, allowing Watson’s attorneys to respond and defend their client,” Pelissero added. “The women’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, said all 22 planned to do so; 20 have so far, and one chose to dismiss her claim.”
It was just last week when two Harris County District Court judges ordered Houston attorney Tony Buzbee to re-file the civil lawsuits that allege sexual assault and harassment against quarterback Deshaun Watson with the names of the accusers made public. Buzbee released a strong statement on Tuesday about the situation:
“We previously attempted to make available to Defense Counsel the names of the plaintiffs suing Deshaun Watson, and intended to do so in due course. We were concerned about the safety of these plaintiffs, and asked the Watson team to agree to a protective order where the identities could be used in litigation, but not broadcast to the world.
The Watson team refused our offer of compromise, and instead insisted that we amend our petitions to name these women. It appears the Watson team thinks that if these courageous women are forced to identify themselves, they would slink away and not pursue this matter. Watson and his counsel badly miscalculated.
Due to the bravery of Ashley Solis to come forward publicly, and despite the death threats she has experienced, these women are now emboldened. Today we are amending our petitions to disclose the names of the victims, even those not currently subject to any court order. The message to Watson’s team from these brave women is: ‘be careful what you ask for.”
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We would also add that, with regard to the new defense of “consent that was proffered at the Friday Watson team press conference, we must say: Mr. Watson may now claim he had consent to do what he did to these victims, but let’s be clear–in their minds he didn’t have consent, PERIOD.”
Last week, Nike suspended their endorsement of Watson, while Beats by Dre, Reliant Energy and supermarket chain H-E-B have distanced themselves from him completely.
