Deshaun Watson’s lawyer Rusty Hardin released a statement on Tuesday that his law firm has “strong evidence” showing that at least one of the accusers attempted to blackmail the Houston Texans quarterback, which would “call into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well.”
Hardin added that he believes “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.”
The blackmail allegedly occurred in January 2021 when an accuser requested $30,000 in exchange for her “indefinite silence about what she stated was a consensual encounter.”
That statement came on the day where a 16th civil lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and assault were filed. The new lawsuits filed later on Tuesday state that the incidents occurred in May 2020 and October 2020.
The filing for the spring allegations states that, “Watson assaulted and harassed Plaintiff by exposing himself to her, touching her with his penis and ejaculating onto her.”
All 16 of the lawsuits have been filed by Buzbee, who told Houston’s Fox26 on Monday that 24 different women have come forward:
