An investigative report published by The New York Times on Tuesday puts Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and his former team, the Houston Texans, in an extremely troubling light.
Written by Jenny Vrentas, the article shows how Watson received massages from at least 66 different women over 17 months.
The quarterback, who will not face criminal charges, has been hit with 24 civil suits.
His status for the 2022 NFL season is currently the subject of an NFL investigation. Commission Roger Goodell will have the final word on what punishment — if any — Watson faces.
Per the report:
Yet a New York Times examination of records, including depositions and evidence for the civil lawsuits as well as interviews of some of the women, showed that Watson engaged in more questionable behavior than previously known.
The Times’s review also showed that Watson’s conduct was enabled, knowingly or not, by the team he played for at the time, the Houston Texans, which provided the venue Watson used for some of the appointments. A team representative also furnished him with a nondisclosure agreement after a woman who is now suing him threatened online to expose his behavior.
Vrentas published a series of tweets about the reporting:
A spa in a strip mall and the team he played for at the time played roles in enabling this series of massages. And the regular dialogue Hardin had with prosecutors before the grand jury demonstrates, at the least, the value of a well paid and well connected lawyer.
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) June 7, 2022
Our review shows the methods Watson used to assure women that he could be trusted. He often said he wanted to support Black businesses. On one occasion, he left a woman perplexed when he purchased 30 bottles of her $40 skin cleanser. pic.twitter.com/C5k2Jd3gQw
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) June 7, 2022
One woman we spoke with said Watson “begged” her for oral sex during their massage. Another woman said he initiated sexual contact in their three appointments. pic.twitter.com/Xv6k6kycHq
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) June 7, 2022
Rusty Hardin, Watson’s lawyer, said his client “continues to vehemently deny” the allegations in the lawsuits. He declined to respond in detail to The Times’s questions, but said in a statement, “We can say when the real facts are known this issue will appear in a different light.”
