As things stand ahead of the first full weekend of June, new Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is eligible to practice and play even though he’s now facing 23 active civil lawsuits regarding allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions.
Watson has maintained his innocence since last year, and two grand juries declined to indict him. However, the 26-year-old was again in the news when it was learned earlier this week a new plaintiff had come forward and alleged, among other things, that the signal-caller exposed himself to her, touched her between the legs against her wishes and “repeatedly” asked her to have sex with him.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Rusty Hardin and Leah Graham, two of the attorneys representing Watson, appeared on Houston’s Sports Radio 610 on Friday and again insisted their client didn’t break the law during any massage sessions in question.
“I don’t know how many men are out there now that have had a massage that perhaps occasionally there was a happy ending,” Hardin explained. “Maybe there’s nobody in your listening audience that that ever happened to. I do want to point out, if it has happened, it’s not a crime. OK? Unless you are paying somebody extra or so to give you some type of sexual activity, it’s not a crime. . . . Doing something or saying something or being a way that makes you uncomfortable is not a crime.”
Florio notes that Watson’s legal team has admitted consensual sexual activities happened between the quarterback and three of the plaintiffs suing him. The PFT story also points out that Watson may be guilty of violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy related to “conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person” and/or “conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel” even if he is never charged with a crime.
There remains no known timetable for when the NFL may announce the findings of its investigation into allegations made against Watson.
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