CLEVELAND, Ohio — Deshaun Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, seeks sanctions from the attorney for the 26th plaintiff, who accused Watson of sexually abusing Watson during her massage appointment because “this is a bogus case.”
In a phone interview with cleveland.com on Tuesday night, Hardin said that text messages from the plaintiff to Watson — more than 35 sent in the year after the alleged incident in December 2020 but never returned, according to filings — showed. He said he wasn’t forced into oral sex as he claimed in his suit.
Hardin said he had text messages from plaintiff’s attorney, Anissah Nguyen, when she filed the lawsuit on October 13. Cleveland.com sent Nguyen an email and text message asking for comment.
“This is nothing more than a usurper concussion and we will not put up with it,” said Hardin. “The days when cases in which we do not believe will be concluded are over.”
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Some text messages with screenshots in the files show that the plaintiff asked Watson to meet him at the Houstonian hotel, where the alleged incident took place during the solitary massage appointments. Some requests to see him again came just days after the alleged attack.
Other text messages from him seem to be sexually open to him about things he can do and vice versa.
“Frankly, he doesn’t look like someone who’s been forced into oral sex,” Hardin said.
Hardin’s partner, Leah Graham, who also represents Watson, attended the call with cleveland.com and said the firm had been silent about the nature of some cases long enough.
“I think the days of biting our tongue and trying to be politically correct and trying to be a little cautious about what the evidence shows and the facts reveal – the days of doing that are over,” Graham said. “The truth will set us free.”
Hardin emphasized that any lawyer who tries to do the same trick in the future will have to answer in court. He said he had resolved 23 of the original 24 teams (one on hold) before Watson could get back on the field. All of these plaintiffs were represented by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who told cleveland.com he denied five. Nguyen told Cleveland.com earlier this month that his client had spoken to Buzbee about representation.
Watson is currently serving an 11-game suspension by the NFL under its personal conduct policy, but is on track to play December 4 in Houston, where most of the alleged incidents took place. He returned to the Browns facility on a limited basis on October 10 and may begin training with the team on November 14.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the fall league meeting last week that Watson had met all the terms and conditions of his suspension up to this point, including the treatment the NFL had designated as sexual assault, and that he must be reinstated for the past six years. games.
“He’s back[with Browns]and it’s over for us,” Hardin said. “We’ve settled a lot of cases that we don’t have any liability for – we believe he doesn’t deserve – but we solved them to finish almost everything so he could start playing football.”
He also said Watson “should settle the matter with the NFL”. Both of these are now done. And now, anyone who wants to open one of these cases is at their own risk, because there is no such thing, and we will fight each and every one of them to the teeth.”
Watson, who also had to pay a $5 million fine as part of the NFL deal, has maintained his innocence since the allegations first surfaced in 2020.
Hardin said Nguyen “let this look like a new case. He did not tell anyone that this woman was questioned by the police in April 2021. It is irresponsible for a lawyer to take this case. He has an ethical responsibility to investigate a case and make sure he feels there is a legitimate basis for bringing it. She obviously didn’t, because her client was rejected by anyone who’s been reviewing her for over a year.”
He noted that the plaintiff was dismissed not only by the police, but by the Grand Jury in Harris County Texas and the NFL when compiling their credible list of cases.
“It’s an ugly lawsuit designed to get a quick settlement, and those days are gone,” Hardin said. “That ship is gone.”
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