Deshaun Watson is facing another civil lawsuit from a woman alleging sexual misconduct during a massage therapy session. The woman accuses the then-Texans quarterback of pressuring her into oral sex during a December 2020 appointment, Claire Geary and Camryn Justice of News5Cleveland.com report.
This marks a 26th lawsuit filed against the Browns QB, who is midway through an 11-game suspension that came as a result of the dozens of lawsuits that emerged between March 2021 and June 2022. Watson, 27, entered the week with one outstanding lawsuit, which will be addressed — barring a settlement — in 2023. This latest matter may come up at that point as well.
The unnamed accuser, who is represented by attorney Anissah Nguyen, alleges Watson contacted her via Instagram and arranged an appointment at a Houstonian hotel room. Following a session in which the accuser claims Watson attempted to have sex with her and, per the lawsuit, pressured her into oral sex, he paid her $300 — more than double her usual massage rate — according to News5Cleveland. The accuser filed the lawsuit in Harris County (Texas).
Two grand juries, the first in Harris County, did not proceed with criminal charges against Watson last year, leading to the trade sweepstakes taking off. Jointly appointed disciplinary officer Sue Robinson subsequently ruled Watson committed nonviolent sexual assault, which led to the NFL appealing and pushing for a full-season suspension. An NFL-NFLPA settlement in August produced Watson’s 11-game suspension. Because this new civil suit alleges similar behavior and is from the timeframe as the others, Watson’s suspension is not expected to be impacted, Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe of cleveland.com note.
The most recent Watson accuser’s suit states she is seeking “minimal compensatory damages” but indicates she has “suffered severe depression and anxiety” as a result of her encounter with Watson. As other suits against Watson alleged, this one accuses him of continually pressuring the accuser to “massage his private area.” While Watson settled with 23 accusers, the Texans settled with 30 women who alleged the former Houston starter committed sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault during massage therapy sessions. A June report indicated Watson saw at least 66 masseuses from fall 2019 to spring 2021. That report indicated Watson arranged for massage sessions at the Houstonian.
Watson, who has denied any wrongdoing amid this high…