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When it became known last week that Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had reached agreements in 20 of the 24 civil cases pending against him, many wondered if attorney Tony Buzbee would continue with his vote to sue the Texans for his alleged role in enabling Watson’s alleged misconduct. An answer has arrived, in the form of the first lawsuit against the jeans arising from Watson’s situation.
“Today we have presented the first case of what will likely be many against Houston Texans related to Deshaun Watson’s behavior,” Buzbee said in a press release. “Suffice it to say that the overwhelming evidence gathered indicating that the Houston Texans allowed Watson’s behavior is incredibly damning. We believe the Texans knew or probably should have known Watson’s behavior. Beyond ‘that, we think the presentation speaks for itself.’
The lawsuit, filed by Toi Garner against Houston NFL Holdings, LP, alleges that Watson asked him for a massage in November 2020 via social media and that he brought with him a confidentiality agreement provided by the Texans.
“During the massage session, Watson assaulted and harassed the plaintiff by aggressively exposing her naked body, intentionally touching her with his penis and finally ejaculating her,” the petition alleges.
The petition alleges that Watson consistently refused to massage at the team’s facilities and that he refused to use the services of the team-selected massage provider, Genuine Touch. On page 2, the petition alleges that in June 2020, the owner of Genuine Touch “complained to jeans that Watson was looking for unskilled strangers to massage via Instagram” and that “Watson s’ he was in danger of contracting Covid, or suing himself. “
The request on page three accuses the Texans of turning a blind eye to Watson’s behavior, and that the team allowed it by providing the NDA, providing a room in The Houstonian where Watson was massaged and donated. give him a massage. table to use for these sessions.
“Watson was an employee of the Houston Texans; individuals in the Texan organization knew or should have known about Watson’s behavior, “the petition states. Surprisingly, the petition states on page four that several Genuine Touch employees were aware that several Genuine Touch therapists had sex. with Watson during massage sessions.
The Texans never investigated Watson, according to the petition. Instead, the Texans gave him a confidentiality agreement that would protect him from the random massage therapists he hired through social media.
The lawsuit seeks to impose responsibilities on jeans in various ways. He argues that Watson acted within the scope of his work when seeking these massages, making the team directly responsible for their behavior. (This is a very aggressive position, as it is difficult to imagine how or why Watson was doing anything other than acting in his own capacity to seek out these massages.) He also argues that jeans could not prevent misconduct. of Watson, once the team knew it. or he should have known he had questionable behavior. Finally, he argues that the Texans and Watson participated in a civil conspiracy that led to Watson’s alleged assaults.
The Texans have issued the following statement on development today: “We are aware of the lawsuit that has been filed against us today. Since March 2021, we have supported and fully complied with law enforcement and the various investigations. We will continue to take the necessary steps to address the allegations against our organization. “
At the risk of reading the statement too much, it is a far cry from the NFL’s “no merit” response to all the allegations against it. Given that Watson has already testified that the NDA came from the jeans, the team may realize it has a problem. The team’s final defense may reside more in legal arguments (e.g., it had no legal duty to protect individuals that Watson allegedly mistreated) than in the facts.
In any case, the resolution of 20 cases, with four still remaining, should not be seen as a sign that court cases are ending. For jeans, they’re just getting started. And, for Watson, he can still find himself testifying in several trials of cases not filed against him but against his old team.