Deshaun Watson Facing 14th Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Harassment, Assault

Another woman has filed a civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson alleging sexual harassment and assault, bringing the total number of lawsuits facing the Texans quarterback to 14. 

The latest lawsuit was filed Monday night but was posted on the Harris County Court's website on Tuesday morning. The lawsuit stems from an incident in July 2020 when, the suit says, Watson "assaulted and harassed Plaintiff by exposing himself to her and touching her with his penis."

The suit details an incident involving a massage therapist invited by Watson to a house in Los Angeles. There, according to the lawsuit, Watson assaulted the plaintiff by shutting the doors to a room, locking the door and eventually grabbing the therapist's hands and moving them toward his genitals. He then, per the lawsuit, forced her hands onto his penis "to get her to pleasure him."  

According to the lawsuit, Watson later said, "I will not have you sign a NDA but don't ever talk about this." The woman, per the lawsuit, "was completely numb with fear at this point as she was leaving. She felt violated, ashamed and disgusted."

The lawsuit says Watson later contacted the woman to ask if she was a "travel therapist in Chicago" and never brought up their previous interaction. The woman did not respond to his message.

It is just the second of the 14 allegations to take place outside of the Houston area.

The latest lawsuit comes after six other lawsuits were filed Monday, including one alleging the Texans quarterback sexually assaulted a woman earlier this month.

The other suits filed Monday stem from incidents that the plaintiffs say occurred in April 2020, June and August 2020, July 2020, August 2020 and January 2021.

All 14 of the lawsuits have been filed by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee. Buzbee told Houston's Fox26 on Monday that 24 women have come forward with allegations about Watson.

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, released a statement Friday asking the public to "keep an open mind" before Watson issues a response to the allegations this week.

Watson has not commented on the additional lawsuits filed on Monday. 

Last week, he broadly denied any wrongdoing in a statement on social media, writing, in part, that he had "never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect."

An NFL spokesperson has confirmed to Sports Illustrated that "the matter is under review of [the league's] personal conduct policy." The Texans said in a statement that they would "stay in close contact with the league as they do."

Watson, 25, was a first-round pick of the Texans in 2017. He has reportedly requested a trade this offseason from the franchise.