Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is now facing 16 civil lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and assault after two more were filed against him on Tuesday. The 14th lawsuit was filed Monday night and appeared on the Harris County District Clerk’s website on Tuesday morning. This comes after six other lawsuits were filed Monday, including one alleging that Watson sexually assaulted a woman earlier this month. The new lawsuits filed later on Tuesday state that the incidents occurred in May 2020 and October 2020.
Watson’s lawyer Rusty Hardin said in a statement Tuesday that his law firm has “strong evidence” showing that at least one of the accusers attempted to blackmail Watson. That now “calls into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well,” adding that he believes “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.” The blackmail allegedly occurred in January 2021 when an accuser requested $30,000 in exchange for her “indefinite silence about what she stated was a consensual encounter.”
All 16 of the lawsuits have been filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who said that 24 women have come forward with allegations about Watson.
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