In Lawsuit, Massage Therapist Says Deshaun Watson Sexually Assaulted Her

A third civil lawsuit has been filed against Deshaun Watson, in which a woman said he forced her to perform a sexual act during a December 2020 appointment.

Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

A third civil lawsuit has been filed against Deshaun Watson, in which a massage therapist said the Texans quarterback forced her his penis into her mouth during an appointment in December.

According to the suit, Watson reached out to the plaintiff, a licensed massage therapist, via Instagram direct message to set up a session. They agreed to schedule an appointment at a Houston office building on Dec. 28, 2020, at 10 a.m. local time.

After Watson arrived, the plaintiff left the room so he could undress for the massage. When she walked back in, he was allegedly laying on the massage table on his stomach with only a small towel, which he brought to the appointment, covering his buttocks. The plaintiff started to feel uncomfortable "but did not want to upset" Watson, the lawsuit says.

During the massage, Watson directed the masseuse to focus on his "inner thighs" and "inner glutes" and repeatedly mentioned that he's a professional football player. After the plaintiff asked him to flip onto his back, "Watson then began to coerce her to massage his inner groin." He next asked her to move to his abdominals.

"Watson got more aggressive, forcefully telling her to move her hand down to his pubic area. At that point, Watson was in control," the lawsuit says. "Plaintiff started shaking at this point and Watson clearly knew she was afraid. 

"...Watson kept coercing and intimidating Plaintiff and it was at this point that Watson coerced Plaintiff to move her mouth towards his penis, forcing Plaintiff to perform oral sex on him. Plaintiff did not consent to any of this conduct."

In the suit, the plaintiff says Watson left the appointment acting as if nothing happened and did not offer her an apology. She says she was so terrified that she defecated on herself.

The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, is suing Watson for sexual assault, civil assault and intentional inflection of emotional distress.

The third lawsuit follows two others filed this week that describe inappropriate conduct by Watson during two different massages by two different individuals. Watson has denied the allegations. 

The second lawsuit says, "Watson's behavior is part of a disturbing pattern of preying on vulnerable women." 

All three lawsuits were filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who wrote on social media Wednesday night that the third suit is "the most egregious" to date.

The first lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, said the incident took place in March 2020, and it was "apparent that Watson wanted the massage for only one reason—sex."

"As she was trying to figure out how to extricate herself from the situation, Watson continued to aggressively attempt to steer the conversation to how Plaintiff was not rubbing him the way he wanted. Several times he specifically kept trying to direct her to his penis," the lawsuit says. "At one point, he purposely exposed the tip of his penis from under the towel."

In the second filing, Watson allegedly asked the woman to focus on the "inner part of his anus" and towards his genitals.

When the quarterback flipped onto his back, the woman handed him a towel to cover up, which he allegedly refused. She became uncomfortable shortly after, and ended the massage, asking to leave. 

The Texans issued a statement Wednesday saying they were aware of the first lawsuit.

"We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night," the team's statement said. "This is the first time we heard of the matter, and we hope to learn more soon. We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will await further information before making any additional statements on this incident."

Watson responded to the allegations on social media on Tuesday night, denying any wrongdoing.