“Some things never change” was what Deshaun Watson tweeted when he got word of the Texans hiring Nick Caserio as general manager. “Some things never change….”
While he later deleted the tweet, he felt some type of way about not having a voice in the hiring of the team’s new general manager. With Caserio hired, the Texans shifted their attention to who was gonna coach the team. At the time, they were one of six teams looking for a new coach, and five of them planned to interview Chiefs black offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy.
The only team that did not plan on interviewing Bieniemy—— the Texans.
This was off putting to him because Deshaun pushed for Bieniemy after talking with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Hold up tho… why?
Why not invest two hours with Eric Bieniemy?
Why not interview a guy who has been at the right hand of Andy Reid for eight calendars in Kansas City and watch that whole thing get built the right way?
Why not Interview a man who ran one of the best offenses in the NFL?
“Some things never change…” is the tweet from a quarterback who just had his favorite target, as well as arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL in D’Andre Hopkins, traded away to the Arizona Cardinals. To Deshaun, it was probably looking to him like the Texans aren’t trying to win.
So, the the trade rumors started, and a few weeks later on January 28th, Watson requested to be traded… right after The Texans hired David Culley as their new head coach.
What complicated things is the fact that Watson had just inked a 4 year contract extension with the Texans, worth a lil over $156 million. The Texans said several times throughout the process that they had no intention of letting go of one of the top QBs in the NFL in his prime.
Deshaun owns the leverage tho, and can force their hand by withholding his services.
He also owns a no trade clause that he can use to his benefit to decide which teams he would want to play for. That is a lot of power for a player in Deshaun’s position. He has to sign off in writing on ANY trade before it can go down.
The man is 25 years old and has been carrying the Texans on his back. Any team that doesn’t have a top five QB has at least entertained the possibility of getting one of the faces of the league. Watson would immediately turn team into a contender.
Still tho, Houston consistently said they had NO plans to trade Watson, but that didn’t stop teams from calling….
Then, out of nowhere, the offseason took a sudden and serious turn in mid March, when Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, revealed in a lengthy Instagram post that he and an alleged victim filed a lawsuit against Watson. Buzbee’s client reportedly claims Watson was getting a massage from a woman and went “too far”.
Watson issued a response to the lawsuit, but he did not go into detail about the allegations. He then hired his own high-profile Houston attorney, Rusty Hardin, who previously represented running back Adrian Peterson and pitcher Roger Clemens.
After Buzbee went public about the suit, it was discovered that he once claimed to be the neighbor of Texans owner Cal McNair.
When Johnny Manziel was coming out of college at Texas A&M, Buzbee paid for several billboards in the Houston area urging the Texans to draft the quarterback. Buzbee recently posted on Instagram reminiscing about the billboards. He referred to McNair as “my neighbor”
That connection has been of interest to Watson and his legal reps.
March 18: NFL opens investigation into Watson
Within a few days of his Instagram announcement, Buzbee filed seven civil lawsuits again Watson, and Lisa Friel, the NFL’s special counsel for investigations, sent a letter to Buzbee asking for his client’s cooperation in a league investigation.
Unlike a formal law enforcement investigation, the NFL can’t make the accusers or witnesses cooperate, and may not have access to police and legal documents. Buzbee said his clients would comply with the NFL’s investigation into the matter “…to the extent we can do so given our civil court obligations.”
Buzbee also filed four additional lawsuits that day, bringing the total to seven
March 22: Buzbee files 7 new cases
Three days after holding a news conference in his downtown Houston office, Buzbee filed seven more lawsuits against Watson, bringing the total cases to 14. In his news conference, Buzbee said he planned to file a minimum of 12 total cases and had talked with 10 other women about filing suit against Watson.
March 23: Watson’s lawyer accuses woman of attempting blackmail
In a statement, Hardin alleged Buzbee was monkey wrenching efforts to investigate the accusations by not releasing names of accusers to Watson’s legal team, which at this point was defending Deshaun against 16 civil lawsuits. Hardin also claimed his office had identified one plaintiff and accused her of previously attempting to blackmail Watson.
The plaintiff in question claims that Watson coerced the woman to perform oral sex on him in December 2020.
Bryan Burney, Watson’s marketing manager, said in a declaration distributed by Hardin’s office, that he spoke with this woman in January of this year and she asked to be paid $30,000 for her “indefinite silence.” Burney alleges the woman said her encounter with Watson was consensual but claimed “it was a matter that both she and Deshaun would wish to keep secret and that she would need to be paid for her ‘silence.’” Burney denies paying the woman.
March 29: Suit alleges Watson is deleting Instagram messages
In one of three suits filed against Watson on March 29, bringing the total to 19, the complaint says “Watson is deleting Instagram messages, and contacting those who formally provided him massages, in an attempt to settle.”
Hardin denied this claim in a statement.
“Like a lot of people, Deshaun regularly deletes past Instagram messages,” Hardin said. “That said, he has not deleted any messages since March 15, the day before the first lawsuit was filed. We categorically deny that he has reached out directly to his accusers in an attempt to settle these cases.”
March 31: 18 massage therapists defend Watson
As the number of lawsuits accusing Watson of sexual assault and misconduct increased to 21, Hardin’s office released statements from 18 massage therapists who say the accusations are inconsistent with their experiences.
Hardin said his office has received “dozens of unsolicited phone calls, letters, emails and text messages” from professional massage therapists who have worked with Watson, saying they never felt uncomfortable or that he demanded anything outside the scope of a professional massage.
“The following 18 women are voluntarily issuing statements in support of Deshaun — with their names attached,” Hardin said in a news release, adding that the women have collectively “worked with Deshaun more than 130 times over the past five years.”
April 2: Watson under police investigation
Houston Police Department began investigating Watson after a complainant filed a report regarding Watson on Friday. Police did not detail the nature of the report or the investigation.
“We welcome this long overdue development,” Rusty Hardin, Watson’s lawyer, said in a statement. “Now, we will learn the identity of at least one accuser. We will fully cooperate with the Houston Police Department.”
Watson does not currently face criminal charges.
Buzbee, who at this point has filed 21 lawsuits on behalf of women accusing Watson of sexual assault and misconduct, said in a statement late Friday that he was aware the complaint was filed but was “not personally involved in the process.”
Buzbee previously wrote on Instagram that he would not take evidence against Watson to Houston Police, contradicting two prior statements, saying he would “go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities.”
April 5: Buzbee files 22nd case against Watson
Like the previous 21 civil complaints, the latest civil lawsuit against Watson alleges he wore minimal covering over his naked body and aggressively directed the woman to massage his anus and groin.
The suit also alleges Watson groped the woman, touched her hand with his erect penis and told her he would not pay her unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement at the end of the session.
April 6: Two women go public with Watson accusations
Two of the women suing Watson for sexual assault and sexual misconduct went public in a news conference at Buzbee’s downtown Houston office Tuesday.
Ashley Solis, who filed the first suit against Watson, read a prepared statement while seated next to Buzbee. Laura Baxley wrote a letter to Watson that was read by attorney Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey, an associate at Buzbee’s law firm. They’re the first of the 22 women suing Watson in civil court to identify themselves publicly. All plaintiffs have been kept anonymous in complaints up to this point, and Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, has accused Buzbee of withholding their identities to impede investigations into the allegations.
Both women accuse Watson of inappropriately exposing himself and touching them with his erect penis. Solis’ interaction with Watson allegedly occurred in March 2020. Baxley’s allegedly occurred in June 2020.
Shortly after the news conference, Hardin’s office released a statement claiming Buzbee sought a $100,000 settlement from Watson on Solis’ behalf before she filed her civil lawsuit. Hardin’s office also shared what they claimed to be an email exchange between Buzbee, Brandfield-Harvey and an attorney from Watson’s agency, Athletes First, that backs up the claim.
Of course, there are now questions about whether the Texans are behind the lawsuits. One line of thought is that they could be trying to smear Watson’s name to justify trading him. Though, the allegations could also weaken the market for him.
When discussing his dislike of the players’ protests against police brutality, Texans owner Bob McNair once said, “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” but that’s a different subject for a different article.
