Deshaun Watson, attorney deny allegations; Browns still plan to start Watson Sunday

BEREA — Deshaun Watson's attorney was the first to issue a denial on his behalf Wednesday against the allegations put forth in a lawsuit filed earlier this week . However, the Browns quarterback had his own chance to issue a denial to the claims made against him.

"Yeah, I mean the statement is the response that we talked about," Watson said, "and everything that he put in that statement. Exactly how I'm feeling and what we're going through this process with."

The newest lawsuit was filed Monday in Harris County, Texas, by a single mother going under the pseudonym "Jane Doe." She said the incident happened in her apartment in October 2020 while on a first date with Watson, who was playing for the Houston Texans at the time.

The lawsuit is the 27th to accuse Watson of some kind of sexual assault or sexual misconduct. The previous 26 accused him of it during massage appointments .

"Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday," attorney Rusty Hardin said in a statement. "We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated. We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don't intend to conduct our defense in the media. We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, Deshaun is going to focus his energy and concentration on football."

Meanwhile, on the football side, coach Kevin Stefanski said there was no consideration given to not starting Watson on Sunday when the Browns travel to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars. He did respond "I was not aware" when asked if the organization knew about the allegations in advance.

Watson said he "found out exactly whenever everyone else found out" about the lawsuit on Monday. However, the attorney for the woman accusing him, Tony Buzbee, issued a statement on his Instagram account Wednesday disputing the notion being put forth by Watson — or, at least, Hardin and his other representatives — of a lack of knowledge of the allegations prior to Monday.

Buzbee alleges in the statement that the matter was first brought to the attention of Hardin late last year.

"We reached out to attorney Rusty Hardin's office for ten months in an attempt to resolve this case," the plantiff's attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement posted on Instagram Wednesday. "We knew this case was the most serious and egregious case brought against Watson to date and our client, who is rightly traumatized by these events, wanted to attempt a private resolution. We thought that was the best approach given the media storm that occurred surrounding the legion of other claims.

"Unfortunately, Watson's team or maybe his lawyers couldn't or wouldn't give this case the attention it was due. Mr. Hardin now has tried to contact us since we filed suit. Unfortunately we see that now as too little, too late. But, we are officers of the court, and we will give Mr. Hardin and his esteemed team the respect he has earned and will work with him to progress this case in an efficient manner."

Watson was asked if he believed it was possible that Hardin or his office did not make him aware of the allegations when they first were brought to their attention he said, "I'm not sure. That's a question for Rusty."

Buzbee was the attorney of record on 25 of the previous 26 lawsuits filed in Harris County against Watson. Of those lawsuits, settled 23 of the previous 26 out of court in 2022, and another one, filed in March 2021, was withdrawn shortly after it was filed.

There remains one filed in October 2022 that  is still pending , although Buzbee is not the attorney for that case. There's another one in which Buzbee is the plaintiff's attorney still pending but dormant.

"With regard to whether Deshaun Watson 'knows who this woman is,' I hope that's his defense," the second half of Buzbee's statement said. "He is well aware of what he did. This case is strong and now that we have filed we will pursue it with vigor. We have heard from the NFL. We will respond in due course. Finally, you should know that, although I wasn't aware of her claims, Mr. Watson was well aware of this victim and her claims immediately after it occurred and Watson was again reminded back when we filed the first lawsuit for the other multiple victims. (I wasn't part of that.)

"I can understand, given the number of women that Mr. Watson has interacted with, that he could forget some or many of them. However, given the nature of the alleged conduct in this case, I expect this incident is something he wouldn't soon forget. We look forward to a trial by jury."

Watson may also be facing another trial by NFL. He was already suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season , his first with the Browns after having been acquired by trade from the Houston Texans, due to Personal Conduct Policy violations connected to the previous allegations.

The NFL said on Tuesday it was beginning an investigation into the allegations to see if there were any personal conduct policy violations. It also said there were no plans to put Watson on the commissioner's exempt list due to the lack of criminal charges and the infant stages of the investigation.

"It haven't crossed my mind, so for the time being, I'm just focusing on Jacksonville," Watson said. "If that happens, that happens, then whatever I have to do with the Browns or my legal team, then that time will come. But right now, like I said and my legal team spoke on, it is just focusing on football."

The Browns' only public statement in the 48 hours after the lawsuit was a statement put out Tuesday by team. It said, in part, they would "respect the due process our legal system affords" while looking to "follow the NFL's guidelines on this matter."

Stefanski did address the situation at the start of his Wednesday media availability. However, his comments merely pointed the media back to the original statement.

"Regarding Deshaun's legal situation, we put out a statement yesterday," Stefanski said. "I won't have much to add past that statement. We'll let due process play out and follow the NFL's guidelines. We are 100% focused on Jacksonville, 100% focused on going on the road against a good football team."

The last time the Browns went to Jacksonville was also a time where Watson was in the center of controversy. That was in August 2022 when they opened the preseason at the Jaguars, with Watson starting the game and playing three series.

Jacksonville fans, in a stadium that was two-thirds full in the preseason, still made their voices heard. There were plenty of boos, as well as several vulgar chants, including one saying, "You sick (expletive)."

"I focus on football," Watson said. "I focus on keeping the main thing the main thing, and that's when I walk into this building focusing on being the best quarterback I can be, on the game plan and trying to be better than we were last week so we can get a 'W.'"

The on-field stakes will be much higher this time with the Browns coming off a season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Watson was making his first game appearance since he underwent shoulder surgery last Nov. 21, and only the 13th start since the Browns acquired him from the Texans in March 2022.

He struggled against the Cowboys' pressure all afternoon, completing just 53.3% of his 45 pass attempts for 169 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a 51.1 passer rating. He was also sacked six times and hit another 17 times.

"I don't like to make excuses or anything like that," Watson said. "Those three hours, four hours to be on the field, I got to lock in and do my craft and do and execute my plan as a quarterback. So again, I'm not going to sit up here and make any excuses for anything that's off the field is what's causing on the field. So I just got to be better this week and I will be better and we're going to continue to grow each and every week to get to where we want to ultimately be at the end of the year."

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson, attorney denies accusations; will Watson play Sunday?