DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Deshaun Watson Legal Issues

"Deshaun Watson Again" thread locked up in Pure Football ... continue here.

In case anyone missed it, the following article, posted by Mac, was the last topic of conversation on the locked Watson thread:

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Deshaun Watson’s alleged $5,000 payment to spa owner under scrutiny in massage cases

Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY
Wed, June 1, 2022, 5:02 PM·5 min read


A Houston spa owner recently testified that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson gave her $5,000, and the reason for it was simply because “he’s a nice person,” according to a deposition transcript obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The spa owner, Dionne Louis, facilitated massages for Watson and helped provide him with women, according to a new lawsuit filed Tuesday against Watson. And now that payment – and why he gave it to her – have come under new scrutiny as Watson faces lawsuits from 23 women who accuse him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions from early 2020 to March 2021.

At least three of the 23 plaintiffs worked for Louis or were otherwise associated with her, according to court records. Louis, who owns “A New U Salon Spa” in Houston, described one of those three plaintiffs as her cousin, a woman who accused Watson of trying to force her to perform oral sex in 2020. Watson, 26, has denied wrongdoing but could be suspended by the NFL if he is found to have violated the league’s personal conduct policy.

Louis “has been identified by several Plaintiffs as someone who was instrumental in setting up the massages between them and Deshaun Watson at her place of business – A New U Spa – knowing full well that she was sending them into danger and knowing that Deshaun Watson was looking for sexual activity rather than a professional massage,” according to court records filed in December by plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee.

Louis’ role in Watson’s massages also was cited in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday by the 23rd plaintiff, who worked for Louis at her spa until she said she decided to quit after her third encounter with Watson.

“A New U Salon Spa provided women for Watson,” the woman's lawsuit states. “Dionne Louis, the owner of the spa, facilitated massages for Watson and knew Watson was attempting to have sex with them. Plaintiff expressed her concerns about Watson to Ms. Louis. Louis brushed the concerns off. It was later learned that Watson paid Dionne Louis at least five thousand dollars for Louis’s 'work.’”

Reached by phone Tuesday, Louis told USA TODAY Sports, “All of that is ludicrous.”

Louis also said the newest plaintiff “has a pattern of doing this type of stuff.” She referred questions about the $5,000 to her attorney, who said he doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Earlier this year, Watson admitted in written questions that the office of his attorney, Rusty Hardin, helped Louis find a lawyer but denied that her lawyer's fees were being paid by him or Hardin.

Louis has been described by the plaintiffs’ attorneys as an uncooperative witness, and the new lawsuit describes her as “very proud to have Watson as a client.” A footnote in the new lawsuit also stated that Louis pleaded the protections of the Fifth Amendment when asked for text messages between her and Watson.

“Louis had emphasized to Plaintiff that she needed to keep Watson happy,” the newest lawsuit states.

Louis testified in a pretrial deposition in May, when she was asked about the $5,000 payment.

“Did you do something for that?” Buzbee asked, according to the partial transcript obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

“What you mean did I do something for it?” Louis replied. “He's a nice person. Like I was in the struggle with COVID, so ...”

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She said Watson gave her money only once, according to the transcript.

“And he just gave you that because he was a nice guy?” Buzbee asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“OK. Because you asked for it?” Buzbee asked.

“Well, it was COVID and it was – he was blessing everybody,” Louis replied. “He had told me a story he blessed some cafeteria workers. He was a nice guy, really, really nice guy.”

She said she needed equipment for her spa: a “butt vacuum machine” that helps with cellulite and a “cryo machine.” But she testified she was having a hard time because of the COVID-19 pandemic and that Watson agreed to help her with $5,000. Her mention of cafeteria workers is an apparent reference to 2017, when Watson donated his first game check to cafeteria employees affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

An exhibit attached to the 23rd lawsuit filed Tuesday shows an apparent screen shot of a Cash App receipt for $5,000 from Watson to Louis, with the description “for machine.” It's dated Nov. 14 and came in 2020, Buzbee said.

Underneath the receipt, Louis apparently writes to a third party that she wanted $20,000 from Watson but got $5,000. The third party was a woman who became a plaintiff in these cases, according to the transcript. The first lawsuits were filed against Watson in March 2021.

“I told you I’ll show you how to get money from men that’s my specialty,” Louis wrote, according to the exhibit filed in court.

In her deposition in May, Louis said she didn’t remember writing that.

Hardin, Watson’s attorney, said the women are lying and out for money. When asked for comment about Louis and the $5,000, Hardin didn't answer those questions and instead ripped the new plaintiff's credibility, saying she has a vendetta against Watson and has "been acting crazy about Deshaun since November of 2020."

Two grand juries considered 10 combined complaints filed against Watson but declined to indict him on criminal charges. In a previous statement, Hardin noted that only three of the lawsuits “involve any allegation of force.” The others generally describe encounters in which they say Watson exposed himself and caused his genitals to touch them.

“As we’ve said, as Deshaun has insisted under oath, each of those three occasions were consensual and instituted by the women,” Hardin’s statement said last week.

The women say it wasn’t consensual, and one of the three plaintiffs who accuses Watson of sexual assault or coercion is described as the cousin of Louis.

The newest plaintiff said in her lawsuit “she could not refuse Watson as a client because of her boss Dionne Louis.”

Watson recently was traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns, which gave him a record guaranteed contract of $230 million over five years.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Without getting into all the specifics with this particular accuser, there have been numerous indications that "therapists" in the Houston area work under a system of referrals. Many have stated that it's the easiest way to do business as a simple text or call from a person like Dionne Louis can immediately confirm availability and schedule an appointment. One of the first accusers (the very first IIRC) stated that she met Watson under the same circumstances, later called the referring party and complained, and also learned that she wasn't the first to do so. I'm pretty sure all of that was presented to the GJ in the criminal proceedings.

So what makes this different? The $5000 check would be the only thing. How would anyone prove that check was in an effort to solicit prostitutes? If so, what then? I don't think Watson would shoulder the blame for a system with questionable design and intentions way before he came along.

I don't think anyone is blind to the fact that Deshaun used this "system" to his advantage. Or that he was a creepy sex addict pushing the envelope way too far. But we have yet to see that he tried to "force" anyone to do something. Even those that were offended and told him to GTFO have stated that he got dressed, apologized, and went on his way. I think the chances of this being some "smoking gun" that would initiate more criminal charges are slim to none.

The Watson thread in Pure Football is closed, but it remains a topic of discussion as long as there are new developments. I chose to continue it in the Tailgate, because that's the forum where it belongs, in my opinion. The NFL has had time to investigate the 22 ongoing civil suits, but perhaps not this new one (#23), or the 24th that is reportedly coming down the pike in the next few days.

The owner and moderators of this board have determined where this belongs. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with posting here in Tailgate either but with several watson threads having been posted in Pure football and having run their course, it's obvious that the powers that bet also decided it belongs in Pure football. And this will do nothing to stop it from being discussed there. Individuals will not be given free reign to impose their will over others.

You would think that with this board being provided to us for free that posters would respect the decisions of the owners and the people who run it rather than continually second guess them and question their decisions. But no.

If the mods want to move this to PF or merge it with Mac's new thread or delete it altogether, its fine with me. I put it here because, traditionally, this is the forum for player's legal issues.

As I said, the owner and every moderator on this board never moved a single watson thread from pure football. As such I'm sure someone will just end up starting another watson thread in pure football. Legal issues are one thing. The fact that the Browns may be directly impacted on the field of play by this makes it directly pure football related.

The powers that be haven't determined anything. Just because mods haven't said anything doesn't mean it's correct.

If the PF threads only stuck to the subject of Watson's availability come Week 1, then you'd have a point. You and I both know that won't happen.

For someone that just got done criticizing another poster for trying to restrict who could talk about what in which thread, you seem awfully comfortable lecturing someone for starting a thread in the correct forum (correct per precedent and the description of this forum).

So the people who own and run the board are wrong and those who claim they know the rules and how things should be done here are right? So you're suggesting that after several watson thread over a period of time the powers that be haven't made a decision based on them not moving any of those threads? Really?

I don't care where someone posts these threads. What I questioned was the reasoning for it. If you can show otherwise please do so. I even posted this....


But please, do go on.

Well, there IS this thread near the bottom of page 1 in the Tailgate ...

https://www.dawgtalkers.net/ubbthreads.php/topics/1936154/watson-trade-off-the-field-iii#Post1936154

Watson trade off the field III

Yes there is. And as you noted it's at the bottom of the page. It died a peaceful death. Meanwhile since that time watson threads have flourished in Pure football. As I said, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with you posting this in the Tailgate forum. The issue is that people are trying to pretend that a looming suspension does not have a direct impact on the Pure football side of the discussion aren't making a valid point.

When and if you pay a QB 230 mil and they can't be on the field, that impacts your football team and their success or failure directly.

So many threads in PF don't belong there with this criteria though

Thanks Dave for posting this in the correct forum. I know you are a big Baker fan, but you have class, unlike others. When I made my post about Baker, the Person......I had the decency to put it in the Tailgate forum and not the PFF, because it wasn't Pure Football. However, we have posters like Pit, 888, and mac that want to force this topic down our throats because they are butt-hurt about poor, poor Baker.

Yes, the decider has made his ruling on which forum is correct to post this content in. And so it is written.

Nope, try again. Same ol' shtick and it's tiresome.

Nope. Strike 2.
I'm stating that the mods have shown that they don't rule with an iron fist. Threads can and do go off topic all the time. This topic, in particular, has like 3 topics that each belong in 3 different forums. Some want to talk about the football aspect without diving back into the others. When myself and someone else opened up the off-field thread over here the first time an accusation flew that we were trying to bury that part of the conversation because.... reasons. If someone can read the description of this forum and still conjure enough fake outrage to question why DW legal convo was started up here... I'll just bow out now because I'm not going to read stuff to you.


Lol... thank you for clarifying. That changes everything....
You have stated previously that you'd stop rooting for the Browns over the DW issue, but would continue to post here about DW. I think it's pretty clear to me why you don't like the idea of separating the different parts of the Watson conversation.

Nice post, oober. I want to say that I was a little snarky on my first post because I am pretty tired of a few people who want to dominate the conversation and resort to insults and lies to degrade anyone who has a different opinion.

Moving beyond that........I think the legal, social, and political topics be kept out of Pure Football. That doesn't mean I am correct. However, I have the right to voice that opinion w/out being attacked. I think these types of threads don't belong in Pure Football because actual football talk is overwhelmed by the legal issues and labeling. I have posted numerous articles, videos, and and opinions on Watson's football skills, but we can't talk about them because we have to read the same story posted by multiple journalists over and over again as if it is new news. Then, we gotta hear about the number of women over and over again. Thus, football conversation is eliminated while a few try to convince everyone to see it their way. Then, they have the nerve to say others try to control the conversation. GMAFB!

Not only can you not keep my name out of your post you are also consistent with not being adult enough to address me directly. Anyone paying attention might think it's deliberate and baiting the number of times you have written "888" recently - all the while misrepresenting comments and posts, claiming I have miss-quoted you when I cut and paste your actual words. At least you have stopped calling other posters who you don't agree with "Evil" repeatedly, I guess that's progress.

Butt hurt about poor poor Baker? Again - a complete misrepresentation on anything I have said since the DW trade went down.... and the 'Butt hurt' comment is also very akin to your cheap smack about posters must be angry? Quality debate right there bro.

Here's a clue Vers - the board lost 90% of it's animosity outside of Palus Politicus for a few months. Then it came back with a vengeance with the overboard spamming of Baker "analysis" and re-writting of OBJ history etc. Do you know what the common denominator that was missing when the football boards were more civil - and what it was now that they are more full of snark? I think you do.

Do any sensible supporter really expect this upcoming spectacle to end in a positive way for the Cleveland Browns?

A suspension is waiting around the corner, the media coverage who follows, the social media, not to mention the trial itself who’s probably going to go on for nearly a year, if not longer.

Who?

Just messing my man. We will just have to see how it all pans out.

I'm putting myself on a self-imposed DT hiatus. But before I do (for the sake of balance) it's posters that whine and complain about things other posters do, and then in the next breath do the exact same thing. It's irritating, and we have a couple that have been doing it non-stop, especially over the last few weeks.

Bringing up topics from other threads where it got heated, and then getting on people's cases for not staying on topic is annoying.

Yo. Enjoy the fam and summer shenanigans! Don't disappear though, this place always needs as much "fair and balanced" as possible.

Speaking of falling flat. You must miss that the mods often go through these threads and remove posts. Just like the low blow attack vers made just yesterday while he was claiming he knew what class was. They have made it painfully obvious to anyone willing to take an honest look that all of these watson posts belong in either form. They seem to comprehend that the outcome of this has a direct impact of what will happen on the field. They seem to understand how this impacts the team and the FO after making the decision to acquire watson.

The fact you keep trying to dance around that is a you problem.

Presented without comment.

A couple of quick thoughts:

- A while ago there was some angst expressed by some about how Buzbee is getting an unfair advantage with the airing of the HBO special. But, while I am not paying close attention other than here on DT, I've seen at minimum reference to 4 interviews Hardin has done since. Sorry - I am not buying that Buzbee is out there tainting public opinion any more or less than Hardin.

- A shift from 100% consensual to "Happy Endings aren't illegal" seems significant.

- Aren't necessarily illegal and definitely not illegal - miles and miles apart.

And that's sticking only to this tweet/post ....

Yeah, that's the "not necessarily" part. Saying something when you aren't really saying anything.

This is the type of annoying post he was referring to.

Seriously.... how does a lawyer for the defense make THAT comment in a case like this??

Are the wheels falling off??

Odd phrasing, I wonder if he will broach the topic if they are necessarily consensual.

Edit: If he states that the one lady was crying tears of joy because it had a happy ending this story is ending up on E! Entertainment.

Clearly they would never want to willingly go there. I don't know if the wheels are falling off - I think the tire might have a puncture and this smacks of damage control with a hint of desperation. jmo

Especially after Watson's happy ending landed on her arm. Disgusting.

So Hardin realized he gaffed and is trying to put the cat back in the bag.

well, if Watson isn't suspended at least half the season, i'd be shockingly surprised. i guess that was expected, but good lord this lawyer made everything worse. ive been on record saying DW is at minimum a creep, but damn.

I asked this on another thread, Swish. I'm an old guy, but back in my day most of us tried to have as much sex as we could. The clubs were always packed and a large portion of the population had sex w/multiple partners on a consistent basis. You are younger than me and maybe you are not in the loop because you have been married so long, but are you telling me that having sex w/multiple other people of the other sex is now looked upon as "creepy?"

remember, some of these cases was him hitting up women on IG and flying them in. the fact that he went through that many "massage therapist" leads me to believe that he has some sort of massage room sexual fetish. again, creepy isn't illegal, but it is creepy.

Hell, if he would've just got happy endings the good old fashion way like the Patriots owner did, i dont even know if we'd be having this convo right now.

chasing women isn't creepy. how you go about it determines that.

Okay, thanks. I just didn't know if having sex w/multiple partners was now taboo.

If it becomes proven that someone paid a madam to set the encounters up for money for sex, then that's prostitution and that is still taboo.

This is our new QB, the face of the franchise... wth was the FO thinking. This will be a long season, and if he's not suspended this year, next year will be long too. He damn well better take us deep into the playoffs. AFC Championship or a Super Bowl is about all that would make it worth all the media bashing. And if it turns out he did more than be creepy, I want nothing to do with either. That Super Bowl would be a disappointment because he tainted it.

Maybe to you. Not to me, and I'd bet most others. My liking Watson or not wouldn't taint anything.