HOUSTON — A massage therapist in Houston has filed a civil lawsuit against Deshaun Watson, alleging inappropriate conduct in her home in March 2020 by the Houston Texans quarterback.
The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday night by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee and appeared on the Harris County district clerk’s website on Wednesday morning, alleges Watson “committed civil assault” when touching the massage therapist with his penis and that he “intentionally or knowingly caused physical contact with Plaintiff when Watson knew, or should have reasonably known, that Plaintiff would regard such contact as offensive.”
Watson responded on Twitter to the lawsuit on Tuesday night, saying he rejected “a baseless six-figure settlement demand,” 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 any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” Watson said in his statement.
The lawsuit alleges Watson booked a massage on March 30, 2020, with a massage therapist who regularly provides professional massages in her home. After leaving the room and returning, the massage therapist alleges Watson was laying on the massage table with just a small towel covering his groin area.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff “began to feel extremely uncomfortable” and “it became apparent that Watson wanted a massage for only one reason — sex.” It accuses Watson of exposing himself and subsequently touching the woman.
In the lawsuit, the massage therapist alleged that after asking Watson to leave, the quarterback made a statement that she considered to be a threat. The lawsuit also says Watson later texted her to apologize.
The Texans issued a statement Wednesday saying they are aware of the matter.
“We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night,” the team’s statement said. “This is the first time we heard of the matter, and we hope to learn more soon. We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will await further information before making any additional statements on this incident.”