Two of the 22 women who filed civil lawsuits against Texan defender Deshaun Watson identified themselves during a press conference.
HOUSTON – Two of the 22 women who filed lawsuits against the Los Angeles quarterback Houston Texans, Deshaun Watson, accusing her of sexual assault and misconduct, made a public appearance at a news conference on Tuesday.
Ashley Soliswho lawyer Tony buzbee She said she was the first masseuse to sue Watson, spoke at the press conference. Lauren Baxley wrote a letter to Watson that was read by the lawyer Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey.
“I got involved in massage therapy to heal people,” he said. Solis. “Heal their minds and bodies. Bring peace to their bodies. Deshaun Watson He robbed me. He took this from me, he stained a profession in which I find great pride … I suffer from panic attacks, anxiety and depression. I am in therapy as a result of the actions of Deshaun Watson. I hope you know how much pain you caused me emotionally and physically. And I hope you know how much pain these other survivors caused. “
“People say they only do it for money,” he said. Solis. “That ‘s fake. Now I’m taking a step forward so Deshaun Watson don’t assault another woman. “
In his letter to Watson, Baxley he wrote: “Every line from professional and therapeutic to sexual and degrading that you have crossed or tried to cross.”
Baxley he said he wrote her the letter Watson under the recommendation of his trauma therapist, “forgive me for not speaking before” and that it was “so that you know without excuses or justifications that they have brought deep and irreversible terror to me and others.”
“Initially, I took a step forward to offer solidarity to other women, but since then I have realized that I deserve justice,” she said. Baxley. “I hope the court will provide this justice and deprive you of the power and ability to hurt more women.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the spokesman for NFL, Brian McCarthy, described the allegations as “deeply disturbing”, noting that “we take these issues very seriously”.
McCarthy said the League launched an investigation into its personal conduct policy last month following initial allegations against Watson, and that NFL “It continues to closely monitor all developments on this issue.”
A source told Ed Werder about ESPN that NFL was in direct contact with Buzbee.
Watson publicly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said last month to believe that “any statement that Deshaun Forcing a woman to have sex is completely untrue. “
Last week, 18 women issued statements through Hardin, saying they worked with the defender Texans and that “it never made them uncomfortable or asked for anything outside the spectrum of a professional massage.”
The lawyer for Watson said the statements were voluntary from women who worked with ” Deshaun more than 130 times in the last five years. “
Tuesday, Buzbee said that one of the women who made those statements also sent a direct message about Watson, saying she stopped working with him because “she listened too much about fighting other people.”
“There are two different stories,” he explained. Buzbee. “Now, I’m suggesting those 18 women had bad experiences? I don’t know. I’m suggesting that there was a reason they went public? I don’t know. It’s a question you can ask yourself. But what I do know is what what was said publicly by an individual and what was said privately were two different things. “
Buzbee He added that his office “excludes about five women, for whom I did not think we could argue a case.”
Conformable Buzbee, Solis and at least one other of his clients testified to police. On Friday, the Houston Police Department said in a statement that it had launched an investigation Watson after submitting a report.
“As with any indictment, the Houston Police Department is now conducting an investigation and will not comment until later in the investigation process,” the department said in a statement. He did not specify why he was charged Watson in complaint.
Hardin said in a statement Friday later that he and Watson “They will cooperate fully with the Houston Police Department.”
“We welcome this long-awaited event,” he said Hardin regarding the involvement of the police in this matter. “We will now know the identity of at least one applicant. We will cooperate fully with the Houston Police Department.”
In a letter sent by Texans Monday their fans with a subscription that is sent regularly during the spring, the family McNair He mentioned the civil lawsuits and the complaint filed with the Houston Police Department, noting:
“While we await the conclusion of these investigations, we express our firm position against any form of sexual assault,” the letter reads. “Our family and the entire organization of Houston Texans they are deeply disturbed by any form of abuse and we condemn this type of conduct. “