Deshaun Watson Denies Masseuse's Sexual Assault Allegations, Suggests Lawyer Is Out For Money

Deshaun Watson has been in the news because of his trade demand, but now the Houston Texans quarterback is making headlines for reasons not related to football. The NFL star has denied allegations from a massage therapist who has accused him of civil assault.

Well-known Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee made an Instagram post on Tuesday announcing that he filed a lawsuit against Watson. The lawsuit alleges that Watson “intentionally or knowingly caused physical contact with Plaintiff when Watson knew, or should have reasonably known, that Plaintiff would regard such contact as offensive.”

Before any specific details became public, Watson claimed he was innocent on social media.

“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. I have not yet seen the complaint but I know this: I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” Watson said.

“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.”

The woman alleges that Watson messaged her on Instagram in March 2020 looking for a massage, according to TMZ. Her account states that Watson lied naked on her massage table, only covering his groin with a small towel that he brought. The accuser alleges that Watson touched her hand with the tip of his penis during the massage, TMZ reports.

According to the woman, Watson made a veiled threat about messing with her career and reputation when she ended the massage.

“We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night,” the Texans said in a statement. “This is the first time we heard of the matter, and we hope to learn more soon. We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will await further information before making any additional statements on this incident.”