HOUSTON – A massage therapist in Houston has filed a civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson for inappropriate conduct at her home in March 2020 by the Houston Texans quarterback.
The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday night by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee and appeared on the Harris County district clerk’s website Wednesday morning, alleges that Watson “ committed a civil assault ” when he touched the massage therapist with his penis and that he was “ deliberately or knowing physical contact with Claimant when Watson knew, or reasonably should have known, that Claimant would consider such contact to be offensive. “
Watson responded to the lawsuit on Twitter Tuesday evening, saying he rejected “an unfounded six-figure settlement claim” and that this is “about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.” At the time of his statement, Watson said he had not seen the lawsuit.
“I have never treated a woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” Watson said in his statement.
The lawsuit alleges that Watson booked a massage with a massage therapist who regularly works at her home on March 30, 2020. After leaving the room, the massage therapist claims, she returned to find Watson on the massage table with only a small towel covering his groin area.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff “began to feel extremely uncomfortable” and “it became clear that Watson only wanted a massage for one reason: sex.” It accuses Watson of exposing herself and then touching the woman.
In the lawsuit, the massage therapist claimed that after asking Watson to leave, the quarterback made a statement that she considered a threat. The lawsuit also says that Watson later texted her to apologize.
The Texans released a statement on Wednesday saying they are aware of the matter.
“We were informed of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night,” the team said. “This is the first time we have heard of the case, and we hope to learn more soon. We take seriously these allegations involving someone within the Houston Texans organization. We will await further information before making any additional statements about this incident . “