Deshaun Watson‘s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Tuesday he believes all the allegations against his client are false. The Texans quarterback has been accused of sexual misconduct or assault by 16 women, with two more accusers emerging Tuesday.
“Any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false,” Hardin said, via ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop.
Hardin also accused Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the massage therapists who have accused Watson, of denying his requests to provide the plaintiffs’ names in order for their claims to be investigated. Additionally, Watson marketing manager Bryan Burney said one of the accusers attempted to blackmail his client for $30K in January, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
In an affidavit, Burney said one of Watson’s accusers — who has alleged he forced her to perform oral sex on him at a Houston office building — confirmed everything that occurred during her encounter with Watson was consensual. The woman then sought a payment for her silence on the events of that encounter, Burney said, adding that Watson would not pay her $30K.
However, after the Hardin and Burney statements emerged, 15th and 16th accusers joined the other massage therapists, Aaron Reiss of The Athletic tweets. Buzbee has alleged he has made contact with 22 alleged victims. No criminal charges have been filed against Watson.
Hahaha wow. Sad if true.
Rusty hard on is his lawyer?
Apparently his real name is Russell. I don’t know if I’d want a grown man who goes by Rusty representing me.
I believe it’s also Roger Clemens attorney as well.
And how many attorneys come out and say “my client is guilty,but we are going to prove in the court of law that he is innocent of all charges and allegations.”
He was the attorney for Clemens
And Adrian Peterson
Moral of the story, don’t demand a trade in the state of Texas.
And the accusers who aren’t from the state? Watson may very well be the victim here but if you think this happening because of a trade demand then I have some ocean front property in Iowa to sell you. If the allegations are false then it’s about money. If they aren’t false then, well, they aren’t false. The Texans lose in either scenario.
Greg M No he’s right. Watson has angered the Texas Sports Deep State, and now the Texans are out to ruin his name and reputation to destroy his trade value and sabotage their own future. All these women are working for Easterby. Wait….Cal and and Easterby are at my door! They found me help-fhjtdvnjjsdbnofkngs
Deep state? Lol I see the crazy Trump supporters are alive and well.
That was obviously a joke, fella…
I think the Texans win craziest team of the offseason award!
Harden is saying what a defense attorney will always say. Buzbee is saying what an accuser’s attorney will always say. The facts are all that is important and that burden falls on Buzbee. If Watson’s a serial predator then he should be tried and put in prison. If he’s not, then a young man deserves to move on with his life and a bunch of young women and an attorney should be put in jail.
Put up or shut up. Unfortunately, this will take a long time to sort out and we may never know the truth.
Agreed. It really is that simple.
Yeah, this is the truest statement. Those saying it’s a conspiracy are just insane. What we know there’s allegations against deshawn Watson whether they are true will be proved in court.
You don’t always get truth from court.
Well, unless the “criminal evidence” that Buzbee claims to have provided to the police opens an investigation, Watson certainly will not be going to prison. If the Houston police already investigated any of this and chose not to recommend charges, chances are pretty low anyway.
The standard of evidence in criminal court is of course much higher, and if one of the plaintiffs actually did contact Watson’s representative for payment, that would severely impact the chances of charges being brought for her at least, and would influence the prosecutor in all likelihood if he/she wanted to bring charges. If the victims are determined to acted in collusion, that could impact the others, and just because Watson behaved badly enough to get sued (if he did do so) doesn’t mean he broke the law. Meaning, I don’t know how many of the accusations fit the standard for rape, sexual harassment, harassment, sexual misconduct, or what not. So while you might have 22 plaintiffs, you might only have, say, 6 victims listed in a criminal case based on the charges. Obviously most of us know this, but the point is that civil and criminal courts operate totally differently in many respects. Any potential criminal case (emphasis on the word “potential”) may look completely and totally different than the currently reported cases.
If you’re interested, wait until the case gets to court and watch it (don’t read headlines without transcripts; the news is awful at covering anything with detail). Otherwise, just let it play out. There’s too much speculating as is.
This is true for the legal side of things. But for the court of public opinion, I think an important question one would need to ask is ‘has there ever been a case in history where 15+ women have falsely accused a man?’
I could see one or two or even a handful, but 16 and counting seems pretty damning to me. I can’t imagine he takes the field again, but then again, Antonio Brown just won a ring.
To be fair to Watson, these women all work for the same spa and are all represented by the same lawyer. If we’re going to go by patterns in making assumptions, it’s only fair then to note that most of the time when a lot of people accuse someone of predatory behavior, they’re not all represented by the same counsel, who is drafting paperwork for each one as he goes.
I think it’s best to just make zero assumptions about either one, and just form an opinion until the court does. You might be right, you might be wrong, but ultimately we’re all reliant on assumptions and second or third hand information. It’s kind of why lawyers make statements to the press-to use our assumptions for their own purposes.
You don’t know what these guys are like or what they do off the field… Until they demand for a trade. I didn’t realize James Harden was supporting every stripper in the greater Houston area until he demanded a trade.
So, does he “believe” the allegations are false, or that they are “completely false?”
Buzzbee has 22 accusers for his starting lineup but won’t he need 55 for a full roster?
I think they’ve contacted Bob Kraft about a trade
He’s certainly up for it.
Have to ask yourself, “Why would he go to see so many different massage therapists?”
The pros have their designated massage therapists who regularly work with them for conditioning and recovery. They don’t go to a different one each time unless they are seeking something else.
I am so glad we are keeping Tua.
Watson may be innocent of sexual assault, but isn’t his attorney essentially suggesting Watson was soliciting prostitution?
I always find it amazing how far certain fans will go to blindly support the players they are fans of. 16 different women are filing similar charges?! Sounds like a pretty clear pattern of behavior. Let’s be honest tho, unless there is a video…the nfl will turn a blind eye and consider it nothing more than the collateral damage of doing business.
I’d dismiss him to Cosby Weinstein Land if not for one lingering question…
Do ALL of his accusers have the same lawyer?
Even one accuser who wasn’t potentially fed a coordinated story by a possibly corrupt lawyer would be a whole different level of credibility.
They do, and all work at the same spa, apparently.
Not that invalidates anything automatically, of course. But that statement is correct, yes.
Seriously am I the only one who thinks BUZZ, BEE is a funny name?
He must’ve been in a race with Gov. Cuomo to see who could get more accusers…
Haha 100% true
Now if the Texans had only taken those 5 first-round pic’s a month ago 🙂
What team offered that?
How many of those accusers are seeking to file criminal charges? That’s what gives Watson’s claim validity, as all the suits want money instead of justice.
Watson is so arrogant that he doesn’t realize he is going to be found guilty and will not be playing football for a long time.