Deshaun Watson will not face criminal charges after being accused of sexual misconduct by 22 Houston-area massage therapists, but the court of public opinion could be another matter.
Two of Watson’s accusers, Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes, spoke with Soledad O’Brien for HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for an episode airing Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET.
“As I work, he deliberately grabs himself and puts his penis on my hand,” Solis said.
“And I pulled my hand away instantly and started crying. And I told him I was done. I don’t want to do this anymore.
Hayes also detailed his alleged experience with Watson.
“He wanted me to do a bit of a V-motion in his pelvic area. So go over his belly to his thighs, back to his belly,” Hayes told O’Brien. “I just kept massaging and did as he asked until his penis touched me repeatedly while I was doing it. He was moving his penis back and forth while my hands were also moving.
Hayes claimed it was ‘intentional’ on Watson’s part and said: ‘At some point he ejaculated. It was mortifying, embarrassing and disgusting.
Solis said the quarterback did what “felt like a threat” to him after the massage ended.
“He just said, ‘I know you have a career to protect. And ‘I know you don’t want anyone involved, just like I don’t want anyone involved with mine.’ For me, that’s when I got really scared,” Solis said.
Watson was traded from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns this offseason and immediately signed a fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million.
“It’s like a big screw,” Solis said of the contract. “That’s what it feels like. That we don’t care. He can run and throw, and that’s what matters to us.
Hayes agreed.
“It was sick for me,” she said. “I felt like he was being rewarded for his bad behavior.”
In March, a grand jury in Harris County, Texas decided not to press charges against him regarding the allegations made by Solis, Hayes and 20 others. He still has a civil lawsuit pending and faces potential discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Watson has denied any massage-related misconduct and maintained that any sexual activity was consensual. He reiterated those denials to HBO when presented with the specific accusations from Solis and Hayes.
One of his lawyers, Leah Graham, spoke to “Real Sports” for the segment. She was asked why people should believe one man – Watson – over 22 women.
“It’s 22 women. He’s a lawyer,” Graham said, referring to plaintiffs’ attorney Tony Buzbee. “There is only one lawyer who was willing to take on these cases. And as we know from Ashley Solis’ deposition, Mr. Buzbee was not the first, probably not the second or third attorney she consulted, but he was the only one to take her case.
“Why? Not because it had any merit, but because he would use these cases to increase his social media following and frankly to get on shows like this.
Graham was asked to explain sexual activity in massages.
“Well, in every massage, I will tell you that he went there, for the sole purpose of a professional massage, and only the three instances where sexual behavior occurred – consensual sexual activity – occurred after the massage session is over,” Graham said. “And Mr. Watson testified and insists that this sexual activity was initiated by the plaintiff in each instance.”
Pressed to tell Watson he had no regrets about the incidents, Graham maintained that was still the case.
“As he testified in his depositions last week, yes, he has no regrets because he did nothing wrong,” she said.
“He did nothing wrong in those massages. And although – to your first question, “How can he be innocent?” I think the real question is, ‘What evidence is there of guilt?’ “