A lawsuit filed in Harris County against NFL star Deshaun Watson alleges the Houston Texans quarterback “assaulted” a massage therapist at her home “by touching her with his penis.”
The alleged incident occurred on March 30, 2020, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of a woman identified as Jane Doe. Watson, 25, denied the allegations on Tuesday.
The lawsuit claims Watson repeatedly told the massage therapist to focus on his “groin area,” and the woman began feeling “extremely uncomfortable” after roughly 25 minutes “due to Watson’s comments and behavior.”
The massage therapist believed “Watson wanted a massage for only one reason—sex,” according to the suit.
Watson allegedly tried to direct the woman to his penis several times, and “purposely exposed the tip of his penis” from under a towel he brought, according to the lawsuit, which also says Watson repositioned himself so that he “purposely touched Plaintiff’s hand with the tip of his erect penis.”
Jane Doe, said to be a professionally licensed massage therapist who has operated a business out of her home since 2018, promptly asked Watson to leave her home and began crying, which led to the following alleged comment from Watson.
“I know you have a career and a reputation, and I know you would hate for someone to mess with yours, just like I don’t want anyone messing with mine,” Watson allegedly said, a comment the lawsuit claims Jane Doe took as a threat.
Watson, who the lawsuit says first reached out to Doe via Instagram direct messages two days before the alleged incident, apologized with a text message that Doe did not respond to. Doe then received Instagram direct messages from other NFL stars a few weeks later saying she was recommended for a massage by “Big D,” the suit says, which Doe believed referred to Watson.
The suit was first brought to light by Doe’s lawyer Tony Buzbee in an Instagram post.
“As a result of a social media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff’s lawyer, I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me,” Watson wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “I have not yet seen the complaint, but I know this: I Have never treated any woman with anything than the utmost respect. The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me — it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.”
Watson, selected No. 12 overall out of Clemson in the 2017 NFL Draft, is a three-time Pro Bowler for the Texans. He signed a four-year, $156 million contract extension in 2020. He has requested a trade from the organization.
