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HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sued by 4 more women who accuse him of sexual assault & harassment.
The lawsuits were filed Thursday night, hours after the NFL said it was investigating earlier allegations by 3 massage therapists who said the quarterback sexually assaulted them during massages.
The claims in the 4 new suits, which were filed in a Harris County state district court, mirror those in the 3 earlier cases. Each woman who sued Thursday worked in a spa or giving massages & claims that Watson exposed himself, touched them with his penis or kissed them against their will.
None of the 7 women, who have sued separately but are all represented by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, are identified by name in the lawsuits. They are each seeking compensatory & punitive damages, as well as court costs.
Watson, 25, has broadly denied that he acted inappropriately & said in a Tuesday statement that he looks forward to clearing his name. In a statement Friday, an attorney for Watson, Rusty Hardin, called the allegations “meritless.”
At a Friday news conference, Buzbee said he expects to file more lawsuits & his firm is vetting additional claims from women, including 1 involving an incident this month. None of his clients had filed police reports, he said, “but that is our next step.”
Buzbee said some of the massage therapists who came forward work at spas, some work from their homes, some work at deluxe hotels. All but one, who was flown in from Atlanta, were from the Houston area.
“These are, for the most part, licensed professionals. These are people that, many of them, are single mothers, either own their own shop or work in a spa,” while 3 clients are married and 1 is engaged, he said.
Hardin’s statement said he is “extremely proud to represent Deshaun Watson and wholly stand behind him.”
Watson is 1 of the league’s top quarterbacks & led the NFL in yards passing last season. He signed a 4-year, $156 million contract extension with the Texans last offseason, but he became unhappy with the direction of the team as Houston sunk to 4-12 & he requested a trade in January.
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