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Deshaun Watson - From the Penthouse to ?


Bobref

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1 hour ago, Irishman said:

I agree Bob...that one seems to have the most credibility if it bears out to be true. The difference is that she left immediately, ignored messages from him. That said, someone I grew up with is apparently well versed in these types of things. The ones that visit hotels likely offered "other services". The key will be where they placed ads. Even though a site like backpage has been shut down by the FBI, there are still sites out there to advertise services. The ones who did not leave immediately, like this latest one......will have issues as well trying to prove their cases. With this last one though, knowing physiology to the extent that I do, certain events just do not happen spontaneously, so there is a bit of suspicion even in this story. 

Oh, there’s plenty of gray areas for a defense attorney to work with. My understanding is that most of the appointments were made over Instagram. One of the first things the defense will do is find out who else these women have had “appointments “ with in the past, and track those people down to find out what their experience was like.

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On 3/21/2021 at 4:29 PM, DT said:

Pace needs something positive to boast about.  Lets give him the benefit of the doubt.

The enormous offer Pace put together for Wilson was leaked. Unless I'm missing it, I haven't hord a word about the Bears offering Houston for Watson. Maybe, just maybe, Pace was aware Watson was about to face all of these accusations.

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30 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

The enormous offer Pace put together for Wilson was leaked. Unless I'm missing it, I haven't hord a word about the Bears offering Houston for Watson. Maybe, just maybe, Pace was aware Watson was about to face all of these accusations.

Care to share, or direct us where to find, the offer for wilson?

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/bears-made-monstrous-offer-for-russell-wilson-nfl-free-agency-winners-and-losers-after-day-1/

 

Quote

 

Here are the details on the offer: 

It seems that Pete Carroll was the one who turned down the trade and one big reason he did that is because it would have left the Seahawks without a quarterback. As noted by Will Brinson, if Seattle would have agreed to the deal, it would have basically made them the Bears. They would have had a stacked defense, but no quarterback and as the Bears have proven for the past 30 years, it's hard to succeed in the NFL without a quarterback. 

My new conspiracy theory is that the Bears signed Dalton so that they can call up the Seahawks and say, "OK, we now have a quarterback to throw in that deal we offered you, will you take it now?"

 

 

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On 3/23/2021 at 3:50 PM, Bobref said:

I actually heard that the whole thing was orchestrated by the Texans primarily to render him untradeable — through no fault of theirs. Secondarily, to “put him in his place.” Love the conspiracy nuts.

The other conspiracy I've consistantly heard is that it's clearly a setup as these women are all just now coming out. I haven't researched the claims enought to know the timeframe of each, but I do know Kobe's accuser received death threats. It can't be easy to be the first to publically accuse a celebrity of wrong doing. Especially a black celebrity. 

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41 minutes ago, Boilernation said:

The other conspiracy I've consistantly heard is that it's clearly a setup as these women are all just now coming out. I haven't researched the claims enought to know the timeframe of each, but I do know Kobe's accuser received death threats. It can't be easy to be the first to publically accuse a celebrity of wrong doing. Especially a black celebrity. 

My general feelings about large conspiracies — and that’s pretty much what you’re describing — is that they never work. Just stop and think about the number of people who would be involved in/aware of such an undertaking. Keeping it secret while orchestrating all that is simply impossible. That’s not to say that “copycat” claims don’t exist. And there are lots of stories about municipal bus accidents and bystanders jumping onto the bus in order to make claims as passengers when the investigators got there. But an organized fraud of this scope is not manageable.

Edited by Bobref
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38 minutes ago, Irishman said:

Interesting to see stories about Buzbee living on the same street as the Texans owner....hmmm.

You think they were in Buzbee's basement, drinking Lone Stars, hatching up the plan?

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Just now, Irishman said:

I am up for beers most any time. 

I like your style.  🙂

Now.  If @Bobref would just send me that darn address.  Aren't we still waiting for our invite for the SB and his chicken wings?

Heck, I will even let him buy.  😉

 

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45 minutes ago, DE said:

I like your style.  🙂

Now.  If @Bobref would just send me that darn address.  Aren't we still waiting for our invite for the SB and his chicken wings?

Heck, I will even let him buy.  😉

 

What’s your preference. Hot? Sweet? BBQ? Buffalo?

By the way, no ranch dressing at our house. Only blue cheese.

Edited by Bobref
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The tally is now up to 19 lawsuits, with the potential of at least 5 more. And Watson’s lawyer said “We categorically deny that he has reached out directly to his accusers in an attempt to settle these cases." (Emphasis supplied). What I get from this is that some initial overtures have been made by Watson’s attorney to the attorney for the accusers.

One thing that I find interesting is that you have 20+ events (some of the complaints allege multiple occurrences), but they all took place within a calendar year, from March 20, 2020 to March 5, 2021! I wonder what Watson’s budget for massages is.

The claim that Watson is attempting to destroy evidence by deleting social media messages is legally interesting. Destruction of evidence is referred to as “spoliation,” and there’s a huge body of law that describes the various consequences of that, depending on the circumstances. It becomes really interesting in the context of a possible criminal  investigation. While spoliation of evidence in a civil case can result in significant civil liability, destroying evidence of criminal actions is called obstruction of justice. And you can be convicted of felony obstruction, even if the crime you’re covering up turns out to be only a misdemeanor... like indecent assault under Texas law.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/03/29/deshaun-watson-three-new-cases-allege-harassment-assault

New Lawsuit Says Deshaun Watson Is Deleting Messages to Massage Therapists

Three more civil lawsuits were filed early Monday morning against Deshaun Watson, alleging sexual harassment and assault, including one that claims the Texans' quarterback is deleting Instagram messages and contacting people who've provided massages to him.

Watson, 25, is now facing 19 lawsuits, all filed in the past two weeks, about sexual misconduct.

Among the three new lawsuits on the Harris County District Clerk's website is an incident from October 2020. The lawsuit says Watson assaulted and harassed a massage therapist by "exposing himself to her and touching her with his penis." 

That lawsuit also claims that "as a result of the repeated lawsuits against him, Watson is deleting Instagram messages and contacting those who formally [sic] provided him massages, in an attempt to settle."

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin told ESPN's Sarah Barshop on Monday that Watson has not deleted any Instagram messages over the last two weeks and "categorically" denied that his client contacted any of the women directly.

"Like a lot of people, Deshaun regularly deletes past Instagram messages," Hardin said. "That said, he has not deleted any messages since March 15th, the day before the first lawsuit was filed. We categorically deny that he has reached out directly to his accusers in an attempt to settle these cases."

Another lawsuit says that in November 2020 Watson exposed himself to a massage therapy student and was "purposely touching her with his penis and ejaculating onto her."

The plaintiff of the lawsuit, who is a flight attendant but was in massage therapy school at the time, said that she had known Watson previously through mutual friends and "never could have imaged he would eventually assault her."

Before the first of two massage sessions between them, which occurred at the plaintiff's mother's house in Pearland, Texas, on Nov. 6, Watson texted the student saying, "I even have a NDA I have therapist sign too."

During that session, he continued directing her to his groin, per the lawsuit, and "repeatedly stated 'get up in there' and 'don't be scared.' "

The second session between the two occurred just days later, according to the lawsuit. Among other details, it alleges Watson "kept aggressively moving his penis toward plaintiff's hand" and that Watson later ejaculated "all over" plaintiff's arm and hand. 

According to the lawsuit, after wiping the semen off of her and finishing the session "as quickly as possible," she told Watson to leave. 

"After Watson left the house, he sent her a text saying 'Maybe 4:30 pm? At Houstonian. I see you're getting comfortable with certain techniques and areas,' " the lawsuit states. "When Plaintiff declined the massage, Watson texted her incessantly almost every day afterwards asking for a massage. Plaintiff did not respond to his messages. Watson would also call Plaintiff almost three times a day. Plaintiff would not answer his calls. Plaintiff felt violated, disgusted and betrayed."

The third lawsuit filed Monday morning details three alleged incidents involving Watson and another massage therapist, in which Watson "assault and harassed Plaintiff by exposing himself to her and purposely touching her with his penis."

The nearly two dozen suits against Watson allege misconduct that ranges from refusing to cover his genitals to forcing women to give him oral sex. The news of the first filing broke on the evening of March 16 after Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, who has filed all lawsuits thus far, disclosed the news on social media. 

The lawsuits explicitly cite events dating as far back as March 30, 2020, and as recent as March 5, 2021. The sessions reportedly took place in multiple states and venues.

Watson denied the accusations in a statement on Twitter on March 16 but has not commented on more recent allegations. Watson's attorney said last week that he believes "any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false."

An NFL spokesperson confirmed to Sports Illustrated on March 18 that "the matter is under review of [the league's] personal conduct policy."

Edited by Bobref
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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/18-therapists-defend-deshaun-watson-174816297.html

FTA:

Meanwhile, Tony Buzbee, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of Watson's accusers, reversed course and indicated that his clients do not intend to file reports with police.

"My clients will go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities," Buzbee wrote in part of a lengthy statement on social media. "Stand by."

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19 minutes ago, gonzoron said:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/18-therapists-defend-deshaun-watson-174816297.html

FTA:

Meanwhile, Tony Buzbee, who has filed lawsuits on behalf of Watson's accusers, reversed course and indicated that his clients do not intend to file reports with police.

"My clients will go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities," Buzbee wrote in part of a lengthy statement on social media. "Stand by."

"Yet, I’ve since learned that my legal opponent, Mr. Hardin, has a son who is on of the exclusive Command Staff of HPD. I am not saying in any way that Deshaun Watson’s lawyer, Mr. Hardin, has a son who has a position that would compromise HPD and its investigation. I support his service, along with all Houston police officers—I think the rank and file know that."

In other words, I am not saying that (but I am) that anything inappropriate might happen.

 

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10 hours ago, Irishman said:

"Yet, I’ve since learned that my legal opponent, Mr. Hardin, has a son who is on of the exclusive Command Staff of HPD. I am not saying in any way that Deshaun Watson’s lawyer, Mr. Hardin, has a son who has a position that would compromise HPD and its investigation. I support his service, along with all Houston police officers—I think the rank and file know that."

In other words, I am not saying that (but I am) that anything inappropriate might happen.

 

It appears like the end game might be getting enough from each side to decide this on the football field without anyone needing to go both ways. 

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And now the cops are finally involved. It’s unclear whether the person who filed the criminal complaint is one of the plaintiffs, although it’s probably not. The complaint was filed after the plaintiffs’ attorney said he changed his mind about turning over evidence to the Houston police. If so, that would bring the number of women coming forward to 23. I have a hard time seeing how this is going to end well for Watson.

Makes having an imaginary girlfriend seem sort of benign by comparison, don’t you think?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/texans/2021/04/02/deshaun-watson-houston-texans-police-investigation/7070050002/

Houston Police Department investigating complaint against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson

The Houston Police Department announced Friday that a police report has been filed against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"As with any allegation, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment further during the investigative process," the department wrote in a statement on social media.

Asked Friday if the department could provide details of the nature of the complaint, a sergeant with Houston police said not at this time.

The nascent criminal investigation comes after 21 unnamed women filed civil lawsuits against Watson in recent weeks, each accusing him of sexual misconduct or assault during separate massage sessions dating back to March 2020. A 22nd woman came forward with similar allegations to Sports Illustrated but said she had not filed a lawsuit.

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement Friday evening that his client welcomed the investigation, calling it a "long overdue development."

"Now we will learn the identity of at least one accuser," Hardin said. "We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department."

With the filing of a police report, Watson is now facing the prospect of a criminal charge in addition to possible compensatory damages in the 21 civil cases.

Experts have said some of the acts outlined in the various lawsuits could meet the criteria for indecent assault, a misdemeanor under Texas law. One of the allegations – that Watson forced a woman to perform oral sex – could possibly be classified as a felony, according to Meredith Duncan, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

It is unclear which allegation or allegations were reported to police Friday.

The attorney representing all 21 plaintiffs, former Houston mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee, said in a statement that he "was not personally involved" in the filing of the police report Friday. But he indicated that other criminal complaints will soon be filed "in Houston and in other jurisdictions and with other agencies."

"I will let the authorities do their jobs, and will continue to do mine, on behalf of these courageous women," Buzbee said.

Watson, 25, broadly denied wrongdoing in his lone public statement on the matter March 16, when the first lawsuit was filed. He wrote in a social media post that he has always treated women with “utmost respect."

Hardin, meanwhile, has previously said that he believes "any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false." 

Most of the lawsuits filed against Watson allege that he exposed himself or touched the women with his genitals during massage sessions at various locations over the span of a little more than a year. Two of the complaints include claims of sexual assault.

The women filed the lawsuits anonymously, using the pseudonym "Jane Doe," but many are described as licensed massage therapists, estheticians or business owners.

Buzbee said two weeks ago that his clients had not reported the incidents to police, but planned to do so. He reversed course this week, writing on social media that he was wary of taking his clients' accusations to Houston police because he had previously called for the resignation of a former police chief, and because Hardin's son, Thomas, works in the department.

"My clients will go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities," Buzbee wrote, without providing any additional information.

The allegations – and, now, police investigation – come just months after Watson asked the Texans to trade him to another team. One of the top young quarterbacks in the NFL, he led the league in passing yards last year and has been named to three consecutive Pro Bowls.

In addition to civil and criminal penalties, there is also still the chance that Watson might face discipline from the NFL, which has been investigating the matter independently. In response to a request for comment, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy wrote in an email that the league is "continuing to monitor all developments in the matter which remains under review of the Personal Conduct Policy."

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1 hour ago, gonzoron said:

Have any of the 19 lawsuits been set for trial yet? How long does that usually take after a civil lawsuit is filed?

I’m certainly no expert in Texas Civil Procedure, and I have no idea what the state court civil docket is like in Houston. But the defendant has not even filed an answer in any of the cases yet, and I don’t expect that for a while, as there will likely be procedural jockeying for position at the start. Once the complaint is answered, the parties engage in discovery, including depositions. In this situation, I would expect that to be very extensive. Somewhere in there, the court will hold a conference, out of which comes the schedule for disposition of the case, including trial. 3 yrs. from filing to trial would not surprise me in the least.

And the number is now 21.

Edited by Bobref
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So now, two of the lawsuit plaintiffs have gone public. They are the ones who have filed police complaints, so their identities would be public knowledge anyway. And Watson’s attorney immediately comes out with the fact that there was a settlement demand pre-suit of $100K, and characterizes it as “hush money.” To be honest, the amount is modest. If Watson could settle all 22 suits for $100K each, he should do it right now. And pre-suit settlement demands are commonplace. They only become “hush money” if the claim isn’t settled. If it had been settled it would be “a mutually agreed resolution of a dispute,” with a confidential settlement that includes non disclosure and non disparagement clauses. 

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/deshaun-watsons-attorney-fires-back-first-accuser-wanted-hush-money

Deshaun Watson's attorney fires back at first accuser, claiming she wanted 'hush money'

An alleged victim holds a press briefing while NFL star's camp makes an extortion claim

By Daniel Canova | Fox News

The attorney for embattled NFL star Deshaun Watson’s responded to one of his accusers --  Ashley Solis -- claiming she demanded $100,000 in "hush money" before filing a civil lawsuit against the Houston Texans quarterback.

Solis, who previously sued under the "Jane Doe"  pseudonym, on Tuesday said during a news conference that Watson acted inappropriately during a massage therapy session in March 2020. She said Watson purposely exposed himself and "purposely" touched her with his penis, which led to her ending the massage and he apologized for his actions.

"I'm a survivor of assault and harassment. Deshaun Watson is my assaulter and my harasser," she said. "I replay the incident over and over in my head as if I'm trying to wake up for some horrible nightmare -- only that nightmare is real."

The professional massage therapist said she and the other women accusing the quarterback "were all deceived into thinking Deshaun Watson was a good guy. … I will not let Deshaun Watson define who I am. I will not let him win. He needs to be held accountable for his actions."

Following the news conference held at the office of Solis' attorney Tony Buzbee, Watson's lawyer countered Solis' statement. 

Attorney Rusty Hardin issued a statement claiming he has emails to prove that Solis was looking to get money from Watson. According to Hardin, rival attorney Buzbee -- who represents 22 women who have come out against Watson -- reached out to one of Watson’s representatives in February in an effort to "quietly settle the allegations the month before he filed the first lawsuit."

In an email exchange obtained by Fox News, Buzbee’s associate Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey said that "my client’s demand is $100,000" adding that "this offer remains open until Friday of this week."

Scott Gaffield, the General Counsel at the Athletes First agency of Laguna Beach, responded to Buzbee and Brandfield-Harvey on Feb. 19 saying, "we don’t believe that the alleged facts show that Deshaun did anything wrong…"

"We believed then -- and fully believe now -- that Deshaun learned a lesson about putting himself in this type of situation by interacting with people he does not know," Gaffield said in a statement. 

"As the emails show, we were willing to continue discussions on Deshaun’s behalf to explore ways to prevent a lawsuit and a public spectacle. But Mr. Buzbee informed us that he was unwilling to do so. We expect that this matter will be resolved in court."

The email communications occurred between Feb. 3 and Feb. 19.

Fox News reached out to Buzbee for comment and is awaiting a response.

During Tuesday's press conference one of Buzbee’s colleagues read a separate letter from another accuser.

The woman, who was not present at the news conference, was revealed to be Lauren Baxley. The woman gave permission for her letter to be read out loud to the media.

"Every boundary, from professional and therapeutic to sexual and degrading, [Watson] crossed or attempted to cross," the letter stated.

Two of the 22 women who have filed lawsuits against Watson are now public.

Houston police launched an investigation into the allegations after a complaint was filed Friday.

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