The attorney for a woman who has accused Cleveland Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexually assaulting her in Houston four years ago said his client plans to meet with the NFL in the coming weeks about the allegations.
Tony Buzbee told News 5 that he will be scheduling a meeting with the NFL for the league to interview his client, identified in the lawsuit only as "Jane Doe," as they conduct their investigation into the quarterback.
On Tuesday, one day after news of the latest lawsuit against Watson dropped, the NFL sent News 5 a statement saying the league is reviewing the complaint "and will look into the matter under the Personal Conduct Policy."
The investigation is being led by Lisa Friel, NFL Special Counsel for Investigations, who led the first investigation into Watson, which led to his 11-game suspension in 2022.
Buzbee told News 5 that during the meeting with the NFL, he will present "new video evidence and two additional witnesses for the league to speak with."
The lawsuit filed Monday accuses Watson of sexually assaulting her during an October 2020 date at her apartment. According to the lawsuit, the woman said she met Watson in a bar while he played for the Houston Texans. She said she and the quarterback exchanged text messages for several months.
According to the lawsuit, Watson came to the woman's apartment for dinner. She said that Watson took off his clothes, laid naked on her bed and "aggressively insisted that she massage him." According to the court filing, the woman rubbed his back, but Watson is accused of grabbing and sexually assaulting the woman.
The woman said she feared coming forward out of retaliation at first due to his standing as the star quarterback of the Texans and then for the public reaction to the 24 women who have filed lawsuits against Watson from his time in Houston.
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, Buzbee said the lawsuit speaks for itself but that "we intend to pursue this case with the same aggressiveness as we pursued the others," adding that he wants a jury trial in Texas.
"I’ve personally never had confidence in the NFL’s disciplinary process, but my client has chosen to engage it, Buzbee said on Thursday.
The Browns said they plan to still move forward with Watson as their franchise quarterback despite the new allegations.
RELATED: Browns moving forward with Deshaun Watson as QB amid new allegations
On Tuesday, the Browns released a statement regarding the situation that read:
“We will respect the due process our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil suit and follow the NFL’s guidelines on this matter.”
On Wednesday, the team and Watson spoke for the first time since the lawsuit was filed.
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski opened his press conference by referring back to the team's initial statement.
"Regarding Deshaun's legal situation, we put out a statement yesterday. I won't have much to add past that statement. We'll let due process play out and follow the NFL's guidelines," he began.
Stefanski said that the team is moving forward with Watson as their starting quarterback as the process plays out, and they have not considered benching him amid his new legal troubles. He did, however, say they he did not know about the new allegations before they were released.
"I was not aware of the allegations," Stefanski said.
Apparently, Watson was not aware either. Watson spoke to the media on Wednesday as well and said that he found out about the newest lawsuit when everyone else did.
"I found out this allegation and this file exactly when everyone else found out. Found out through media, saw it popped up on my phone and then I called my attorneys and asked them what it was," Watson said.
He also said that the statement sent out by his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, represented his stance on the matter.
"The statement is the response that we talked about and everything that he put in that statement is exactly how I'm feeling and what we're going through this process with," Watson said.
Hardin's statement read:
“Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday. We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated. We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don’t intend to conduct our defense in the media. We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course. In the meantime, Deshaun is going to focus his energy and concentration on football.”
