It appeared the Texans were about to be involved in a massive lawsuit with 30 women claiming they helped Deshaun Watson with his massage misconduct, so they just whipped out the checkbook to ensuring that didn’t happen.
That is the difference between dealing with billionaires instead of millionaires.
This is what Watson should have done from the beginning before it got out of hand and his reputation was dragged through the mud.
Here are the details of the settlements.
All of the women who have made, or intended to make, claims against the Houston Texans organization for its alleged role involving the reported sexual misconduct of former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson have resolved their claims, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee announced Friday. The terms of the settlements, to include the amounts paid each, are confidential.
Watson was accused by more than two dozen women of being lewd and sexually offensive during scheduled massage therapy sessions. Watson found and contacted most of the women on Instagram, instead of using the trained professional sports massage therapists provided by his NFL team.
Tony Buzbee released this statement to BSO about the settlements.
“I will have no further comment on the allegations or the Texans’ 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. As previously reported, only one of the 30 women who made allegations against the Texans filed a formal lawsuit. That particular lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice as soon as the appropriate settlement paperwork is complete.
“It takes an incredible amount of fortitude for a victim of sexual misconduct to come forward. It is even more difficult when the alleged wrongdoer is famous, rich, and powerful. As I’ve said before, these cases started with one phone call, from one brave and strong woman: Ashley Solis. Because of her willingness to speak out, soon others followed. I admire Ashley Solis and the other woman who were courageous enough to make their voices heard. I hope their bravery serves as an example to others who have been subjected to similar conduct. Every story has a hero – in this story, that hero is Ashley Solis and the other woman who, despite the ridicule, criticism, and vitriol directed at them, endured.
“The four filed cases against Deshaun Watson will continue. We hope to try them all in the spring of next year. In the meantime, we will continue to do the important work to prepare for such.”
Buzbee didn’t say if some of the 30 women had already settled their cases with Watson, so we can’t be sure of the total of amount of individual women that have settled cases since there might have been some crossover. All we know is the Texans have paid to keep all their dirty laundry from airing.
Flip the pages for more about the settlements and Watson’s potential punishment.
