Deshaun Watson Now Has 12 Accusers and Possibly 10 More, Attorney Says
Deshaun Watson Now Has 12 Accusers and Possibly 10 More ... Attorney Says
There are now TWELVE women making sexual misconduct allegations against Deshaun Watson -- with 10 more accusers being vetted, according to attorney Tony Buzbee.
Buzbee represents the 7 women who have already filed lawsuits against Watson -- and at a news conference on Friday, he announced 5 more lawsuits are in the works.
"We are now representing 12 women and we will file 5 more cases in due course. We have spoken to more than 10 additional women, 22 women," Buzbee said.
To clarify, Buzbee said the additional 10 women all have similar stories to the first 12 ... but he's still gathering information before filing lawsuits on their behalf.
Of the 12 accusers, Buzbee says the women did NOT know each other before coming forward with their allegations.
The women come from different racial backgrounds -- 7 of them are Black, 2 Hispanic and 3 are Caucasian.
Additionally, Buzbee says he's been contacted by the Houston Police Dept. -- which is now looking into the allegations.
Buzbee says none of the accusers had gone to police before contacting his firm -- but says the "next step" is to submit a "package" of information to police, presumably to help launch a criminal probe.
During his news conference, Buzbee also shot down conspiracy theories that the Houston Texans were driving the lawsuits as a result of a standoff between Watson and Texans ownership. Buzbee says he lives near the family that owns the Texans but does not know them personally.
There's more ... Buzbee also notes that one of the accusers claims Watson assaulted her AFTER Buzbee had already been in contact with Watson's agent to inform him about a claim from another woman.
Buzbee says he's been personally sitting down with each accuser to vet their stories -- explaining he "wanted to make damn sure" the women were truthful.
Buzbee says the first accuser's story "certainly passes the smell test" and praised her as a brave and truthful person.
Earlier in the day, Deshaun's agent, David Mulugheta, broke his silence about the allegations against Watson -- doubling down on the notion the women are making up the accusations for "financial gain."
"Sexual assault is real. Victims should be heard, offenders prosecuted," Mulugheta said in a statement Friday morning.
"Individuals fabricate stories in pursuit of financial gain often. Their victims should be heard, and those offenders also prosecuted."
"I simply hope we keep this same energy with the truth."
In other words, Mulugheta strongly believes the accusers are lying and he's extremely confident Watson will be vindicated in the end.
TMZ Sports has obtained all 7 of the lawsuits filed against Watson -- and they're all very similar.
Each of the women claims Watson reached out seeking a massage -- most of the women claim he first contacted them on Instagram.
But, when they met for the massage therapy sessions, the women claim Watson became aggressive in pursuit of a sex act.
One of the women claims Watson forced her to perform oral sex on him, against her will.
All of the accusers say they never consented and felt violated. They're all suing for civil assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Buzbee claims he has text messages and DMs from the QB which back his client's allegations ... including an apparent apology from Deshaun after a massage session gone bad.
The first woman who filed her lawsuit against the Houston Texans QB claims Watson became aggressive during a treatment in March 2020 ... which ended after he allegedly repeatedly tried to direct the woman to massage his genitals.
In her suit, the woman claims a fully-erect Watson exposed his penis and "purposely touched [Jane Doe's] hand with the tip."
The woman claims she ended the massage immediately and began to cry. Afterward, she claims Watson sent her a text message apologizing for his behavior.
On Friday, Buzbee went public with the alleged apology text from Deshaun.
"Sorry about you feeling uncomfortable. Never were the intentions. LMK if you want to work in the future. My apologies."
For his part, Watson adamantly denies the allegations -- and claims he's the victim of a shakedown by an attorney looking to score a cash grab from his lying clients.
Originally Published -- 5:58 AM PT