A new lawsuit alleging sexual assault and harassment during massage sessions was filed Tuesday against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who now faces 23 civil cases.
Tuesday’s lawsuit alleges Nia Smith, who is identified by name and worked for A New U Salon Spa in Houston, had three meetings with Watson from June 2020 to September 2020.
In the first session, Smith said “things just kept getting weirder” and Watson wanted her to focus on his buttocks. A second session alleges that Watson attempted to grab and touch the plaintiff’s buttocks and also asked the plaintiff if she wished to perform a sexual act. In the third and final session, Smith alleges that Watson undressed in front of her, refused to cover himself and repeatedly urged her to have sex with him.
Watson denied the allegations through a statement from his attorney, Rusty Hardin.
“Deshaun Watson has vehemently denied the allegations, just as he has vehemently denied them since they first discussed them with members of our firm in March last year,” the statement said, in part. “She repeated the allegations on social media in August and he denied them at the time. The only thing new about their claims is the beautification, which makes them more extreme than previous versions. Deshaun’s denial remains the same.”
Watson was traded to the Browns this offseason and was rewarded with a new $230 million contract. No word from the NFL on whether Watson will see some disciplinary action from the league to start the new season. Especially with all these cases that are still pending.