DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Deshawn Watson News

That was regarding cases brought specifically against the Texans. The 4 pending vs Watson are still pending.

I'm just wondering how there are/were more cases vs Texans than Watson, or if I lost count.

I had the same thought as well about the six additional cases.

I think it's a clear sign that there will be more to come in the watson drama.

j/c

So now we have posters who think the agreement that the NFLPA agreed to and contractually signed is something the NFLPA should not abide by. That even though they agreed to Robinson and every other term in the agreement, now suddenly they call foul and some buy into that. Interesting.

Texans settle with 30 women arising from alleged misconduct of Deshaun Watson

Posted by Mike Florio on July 15, 2022, 12:58 PM EDT
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The Texans are doing what Deshaun Watson should have done. The team is resolving all cases against it, quickly.

Via KPRC 2 in Houston, the Texans have negotiated settlement agreements with 30 women who had potential claims against the team, arising from the alleged misconduct of former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

“I will have no further comment on the allegations or the Texans’ role, other than to say that there is a marked contrast in the way in which the Texans addressed these allegations, and the way in which Watson’s team has done so,” attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement. “As previously reported, only one of the 30 women who made allegations against the Texans filed a formal lawsuit. That particular lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice as soon as the appropriate settlement paperwork is complete.”

This leaves four pending cases against Watson, given the recent settlement of 20 claims.

“We hope to try them all in the spring of next year,” Buzbee said regarding the four remaining claims against Watson. “In the meantime, we will continue to do the important work to prepare for such.”

The fact that the Texans settled with 30 women suggests that six more lawsuits could still be filed against Watson.

In the one lawsuit that had been filed against the Texans, it was contended the team knew or should have known about Watson’s alleged proclivities but failed to take action to stop it. Instead, the team allegedly facilitated Watson’s habit, actual or perceived or otherwise, of arranging massages through social media and trying to make them into sexual encounters.

Ordinarily, the terms of such agreements are confidential. Whether the league will allow the Texans to enter into a broad nondisclosure agreement is a different question. Mary Jo White, after investigating the Panthers following the departure of founder Jerry Richardson, recommended that the league prohibit teams from using NDAs that would limit cooperation with league investigations. The league apparently has not yet adopted that recommendation.

It also remains to be seen whether the settlements will spark an investigation of the Texans. We’ve posted that question to the league.

It seems the New York Times did a better job than the Browns did. And they weren't investing almost a quarter of a billion dollars.

Denying knowledge of Deshaun Watson’s alleged misconduct, Texans say they chose to resolve claims “amicably”

Posted by Mike Florio on July 15, 2022, 1:57 PM EDT
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The Texans have opted to resolve the claims of 30 woman who contended the the team was responsible for the alleged misconduct of former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. The team issued a statement confirming this development.

“We were shocked and deeply saddened when we first learned of the allegations against our then franchise quarterback in March 2021,” said the statement from owners Janice McNair and Hannah and Cal McNair. “Although our organization did not have any knowledge of Deshaun Watson’s alleged misconduct, we have intentionally chosen to resolve this matter amicably. This is not an admission of any wrongdoing, but instead a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct.


“We hope that today’s resolution will provide some form of closure to the parties involved, our fans and the Houston community at large. As an organization, we will now turn our focus to the future and doing what we can to ensure respect for all.”

The denial of knowledge of misconduct by Watson may not mesh completely with the decision of the team’s director of security, Brent Naccara, after he became aware of a social-media threat to expose Watson, to give Watson a nondisclosure agreement to use. (Watson has testified to those basic facts.) At best, Naccara opted for willful ignorance as to why someone was threatening to expose Watson. At worst, Naccara knew what was going on, and he decided to try to keep it quiet in lieu of trying to put an end to it.

The Texans’ decision to settle means we’ll never know what Naccara knew, when he knew it, what he did, and why he did it — unless the NFL investigates, as it should. Especially since the Texans have settled not with one person, but with THIRTY.

Does it? I'm not sure what to make (if anything) of the additional women doing it backwards order, so to speak.

I'm not "sure" what to make of it either. But it does appear obvious that the number of women who feel there is a case to be made about how they were treated by watson is now 30 that we know of.

NFL said to make it all go away, and now the coverup effort just completed stage 2. Somebody looked at the dollar signs of a Watson-led Browns and decided he wasn't rapey enough to lose that money. smdh

j/c:

Shefty just said that he doesn't think the NFL is going to punish the Texans. I wonder if that will influence Sue Robison at all because once again, it seems the NFL is very selective on who they punish and who they don't.

I guess I don't think it will matter much to Sue Robinson and I feel a lot better about her making the ruling than Goodell. Hopefully she will give Brown's fans good news.

Shefty is saying---and others have said the same--that he doesn't expect Sue Robinson to give her ruling until the week that TC begins or even the week after.

That is the stinkiest pile of BS I've heard in a long while.

Tell me bro should the Texans be given the same punishment as Watson??? I mean hey the got him the room, they set him up with the Non Disclosure agreement. I mean if folks want to suspend Watson for a year why shouldn't the whole Texans organization be suspended for a year?

Ummmm... we can't even get into specifics of what the punishment would be. They're not going to get punished at all.

Oly because the owners want to punish others for doing what they do.

The witch hunt continues.

Of course it is, but it is all now the official narrative.
The cases are settled, which undoubtedly includes gag orders, so whatever the spokepersons for the team say is the official and "true" story and this aspect of all of it, where a team itself was under threat, is now closed off and under the rug.

The wagons have been circled; this is almost certainly the last thing of significance anyone will hear on it. Media types that enjoy inside access will stop writing about it and it will just fade away, now.

Both should be punished because both were heavily involved, imho.

Probably, but not definitely. The NY Times report cited 66 massage therapists who have to be considered as possible accusers. According to the NY Times, the statute of limitations on Watson's possible transgressions - at least to this point in time - won't sunset until March 2023.

The NFL can't feel good about passing judgement with the possibility of more allegations still being out there.

"This is not an admission of any wrongdoing, but instead a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct."

So, the Texans decide to settle with 30 women (amazing how the total keeps growing against an innocent man) not because they did anything wrong per the settlement but as a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct. Who were the ones that subjected these women to sexual assault and misconduct?

I agree with every post that points to the fact that obviously the Texans knew something was going on and now should receive some type of punishment from the league. They might not have admitted guilt but the second part of that sentence sure sounds like they are admitting guilt.

The bigger question is does this make it clear now that even the Texans knew there was some shady chit going on with Watson? Would it surprise anyone if 6 or more civil suits show up the same day or day after Robinson's ruling? How does a team make a formal statement that they are taking a stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct, and it not shine bright negative light on Watson? Without using the name Watson, the Texans just went out and confirmed that they are settling the suits because some form of sexual assault and misconduct occurred.

How many more people have to drop bombs on this situation before people start realizing that Watson used his elite position in society to take unfair advantage of these women at a level that the NFL has never seen before in the history of the game? This is still all about Watson and his taking advantage of women yet we still have people trying to spin this in his favor. Sure hope he doesn't meet your daughters or spouse on the street!

Well, in light of this I just refuse to root for the Texans this year, and any year after. Unless it helps the Browns, then I might, maybe.

I see what you did there...

Oh c'mon, if I am gonna troll it'll be better than that.

Lighten up Francis.

If Watson remains unsuspended for all 17 games,

The Browns still only have a 1 in 16 chance to achieve any playoff spot and it is against other teams in their division.

Given the Browns lack of continuity, I'd expect the Browns would not make the playoffs
as they usually don't.

WHAT IS SETTLEMENT DEFINITION LAW?

Settlement definition law is used in civil suits where an agreement is issued to prevent the civil litigation from proceeding through the court system.

Settlement definition law is used in civil suits where an agreement is issued to prevent the civil litigation from proceeding through the court system. This agreement is referred to as a settlement. When a settlement in civil litigation occurs, "THE DEFENDANT IS AGREEING TO SOME OF THE CLAIMS MADE BY THE PLAINTIFF(S) AND IS DECIDING NOT TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF LITIGATION IN COURT."

In the event a settlement does occur, the defendant will often be required to provide the plaintiff with monetary compensation as a result of the "ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS" that caused the plaintiff to incur a loss.

Does settling mean guilty?
Lack of Guilt: When a claim is settled out of court, it means that neither party admitted to any wrongdoing and therefore, that neither party can be found “guilty.” SETTLING OUT OF COURT ESSENTIALLY ALLOWS THE OTHER PARTY TO PAY (MONETARILY) FOR HIS OR HER MISCONDUCT WITHOUT ASSUMING LEGAL LIABILITY.

If the definition is applied correctly in regards to the NFL PCP, misconduct has occurred and been admitted to by the defendant Watson.

j/c:

I'm a Browns fan. I am not a Baker fan who is holding a huge grudge against the team. With that in mind, the NFL is disgusting me more and more. They let Kraft go completely. They don't punish Jones at all. They slap a $10 million fine on Snyder and nothing else. They have been investigating Watson w/rigor for a long, long time. Now, they are already ending their investigation of the Texans even though the allegations came to light w/in the last month. Funny how that works.

Furthermore, the Texans release a statement that paints them in some holy light while casting a cloud of guilt on Watson. We will never know how much they had to pay for their "settlement." I do know that it was widely rumored that the Texans were the ones who persuaded Buzbee to go after Watson. It's worked out rather nicely for them. They got a ton of draft capital for a player who did not want to play for their racist organization, escape punishment from the NFL, and watch as Watson is about to be punished.

So let me get this straight ... Watson settles and it's good. Texans settle and it's nefarious and they are covering something up. And you still want to peddle the conspiracy theory that the guy who went after the Texans and who sued the Texans was asked to do so by the Texans owner.

Texans’ settlement with 30 accusers has pros and cons for Deshaun Watson

Posted by Mike Florio on July 16, 2022, 8:38 AM EDT
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On the surface, the decision of the Houston Texans to settle with one woman who had sued the team over former quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s alleged misconduct and with 29 others who had not yet sued has no impact on Watson. The claims against him — four still pending and, based on the Houston settlement, up to six who could still sue him — are not affected. At a deeper level, there are pros and cons to Houston settling.

The good news is that, if/when the cases against the Texans go to trial, Watson won’t get dragged into that litigation as a witness. He would have been potentially questioned under oath in advance of each trial (in the form of a deposition), and he undoubtedly would have been called to testify at each and every trial. Even if he had settled all of the cases pending against him by then, he would have faced tough questioning from attorney Tony Buzbee and possibly from the team’s lawyer, based on the specific defense(s) developed and asserted before a jury. The team could have tried to show that Watson did nothing wrong and, in turn, the team did nothing wrong. The team alternatively could have tried to blame it all on Watson, that he’s the one who should have been pursued for compensation for any wrongdoing.

Along those same lines, the settlement avoids what would have been a very awkward dynamic. If the cases against the Texans would have been filed directly against the team and not added to the existing cases (that’s how the first one was presented), the Texans would have potentially added Watson to the cases as a third-party defendant when formally responding to each lawsuit, arguing that Watson is responsible for any alleged harm suffered, not the team. The headline easily could have been, “Texans sue Deshaun Watson.” The settlements by the Texans avoid this procedural complication.

The bad news is that, for the four pending cases and the six potential additional ones, the settlements will help fund the ongoing litigation. Although the amount isn’t known and may never be, any amount paid to the women still suing or who will be suing Watson can be used to help pay the expenses in the four cases still pending against him. It also could embolden those who have refused settlement offers to hold even more firm in their positions, and to insist on having a public trial.

On that point, Watson and his lawyers may be entitled to learn within the confines of the pending cases the amounts paid by the Texans. The Texans and Buzbee surely would fight any such effort. Watson, through his lawyers, may argue that the information could be relevant to the remaining litigation, and thus is fair game for the discovery process. If the settlements are low, the potential argument would be that it shows the cases are weak. If the settlements are high, Watson could try to get credit dollar-for-dollar credit against any verdict entered against him. Again, the team and Buzbee would surely fight any such attempt to introduce the settlement amounts in open court.

It’s still a two-edged sword for Watson. The more the Texans pay, the more it appears that there was a reason to pay. That the Texans had known about Watson’s alleged wrongdoing and failed to stop it. That Watson had indeed engaged in wrongdoing.

Regardless, the bottom line is that the situation, which was on the verge of becoming hopelessly complicated with up to 30 fresh lawsuits against the Texans, has become streamlined. From the NFL’s perspective, that’s good news. It guarantees that, once the remaining cases against Watson end, this protracted distraction will finally be over.

You do realize that Buzzbee is also the attorney who sued the Texans, right? Sometimes you need to engage your brain when you claim the Texans pushed an attorney on people. You only promote the rumors you hear when it points in one direction. Even after they've been proven to make no sense. Sounds like the agenda BS you accuse others of.

If your daughter or wife is in the massage business, they could meet. How many women has Watson assaulted, how many times has he been arrested? And convicted? When was consensual sex criminalized....no one has pre-marital sex, right. DW is a terrible person, wonder what all the organizations/people who have received hundreds of thousands of dollars for building their communities would say. All the players think he's a scum bad- NOT. DW isn't perfect, he has many faults just like all of us.
I wish he'd never had so many massages - some think every massage was for sex....wonder what the real count is/was....it doesn't matter. Hope this finishes soon, and he can play a game he's very good at.....GO Browns!!!!

I've completely lost interest in everything the browns have done since craping on Baker and buying McRapey's services for way too much money. I'm just hoping at this point that I will be able to watch and enjoy the games.

Time for the NFL to penalize the Houston Texans for their role in the Deshaun Watson case – Terry Pluto

Updated: Jul. 15, 2022, 3:07 p.m. | Published: Jul. 15, 2022, 2:07 p.m.
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By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Now that the Houston Texans have settled lawsuits with 30 women in the Deshaun Watson case, the NFL needs to act.

Time to do more than fine the Texans. Take away some draft picks.

A New York Times story by Jenny Vrentas revealed how the Texans supplied Watson with a suite at a Houston hotel, where the quarterback met various massage therapists. The story also stated a member of the Texans organization gave Watson a non-disclosure agreement form. Watson was supposed to have those signed by the therapists before the massages began.

This is disgraceful conduct by the team, which should have demanded Watson receive his treatments at the team facility. At the very least, the team should not have helped Watson in his unsavory activities.

From a pure business perspective, Watson is a multi-million dollar investment. The Texans should want him receiving the best medical treatment. And yes, legitimate massage therapy is a medical treatment.

But Houston wanted to placate its star quarterback.

Keep in mind, these must not have been isolated incidents. The settlement states 30 women – that’s 10 more than Watson has settled with in his own case.

We can ask, “What was Watson doing?” But the NFL must ask, “What was Houston doing? Is this how we want our teams to act?”

The answer must be a loud “NO!” with a significant penalty attached to it when it comes to Houston.

Lots of attention has been placed on Watson’s actions with the massage therapists and what (if any) suspension he receives from the NFL. From the moment the New York Times story broke, I wrote a column urging the NFL to investigate the Texans for their role in the case.

Granted, the Texans settling cases with the women probably included non-disclosure agreements. But that doesn’t mean the NFL should ignore the role played by Houston.

For the record, the Texans deny they did anything wrong.

Here’s part of their statement: “We were shocked and deeply saddened when we first learned of the allegations against our then franchise quarterback in March 2021. Although our organization did not have any knowledge of Deshaun Watson’s alleged misconduct, we have intentionally chosen to resolve this matter amicably. This is not an admission of any wrongdoing, but instead a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct.”

Then why settle? The NFL must ask Houston that question.

Yes, Watson has since been traded to the Browns, where his playing status is pending before the NFL. But right now, it’s time for the league to take away draft picks from Houston – and send a message to other teams that this will not be tolerated.

I agree w/you. The new system is better than the previous one, but it still reeks of bias and unfairness. One would think that a former District Judge appointed by President Bush would be better of rendering a judgement than Roger Goodell or one of his designees.

About the timeline. I don't know how they know, but insiders are saying Sue L. Robinson probably will make her verdict known the week that TC starts or the week after. It sucks having to wait, but it is what it is.