BEREA, Ohio — Deshawn Watson said he has never been disrespectful to women and that he was surprised by the allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior that were leveled against him.
“I know these accusations [are] very, very seriously,” Watson said. “But I have never attacked any woman. I have never disrespected any woman.”
The Cleveland Browns introduced Watson as their new starting quarterback at Friday’s press conference.
On March 18, the Browns acquired Watson in exchange for the Houston Texans before signing him to a new five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract, the most guaranteed $80 million single contract in NFL history.
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The Browns traded Watson while he is still facing lawsuits from 22 women, lawsuits that accuse him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Plaintiffs’ attorney Tony Bazby told ESPN that the Browns never contacted him or spoke to any of his clients during the investigation, which the Browns called “extensive.”
Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry said legal counsel advised the team not to contact the women directly, “for fear that it would be seen as interfering with a criminal investigation.” Berry said the team used independent investigators, but did not say whether these investigators contacted the women.
“I will say that the investigators we hired were able to get a complete picture of all the cases,” Berry replied. “I’m not going to go into the details of everything that the investigators did, but they got a complete picture of all the criminal and civil cases.”
On Thursday, a second grand jury in Texas declined to indict Watson after considering a sexual harassment charge, the Brazoria County District Attorney said. Earlier this month, a Harris County grand jury, where Houston is located, declined to indict Watson after a lawsuit-fuelled police investigation. Charges in lawsuits range from touching women with their genitals to forcing them to perform oral sex. The eight women who sued Watson filed criminal complaints against him with the Houston police and were due to appear before a grand jury.
On Friday, Watson said it was “not my intention” to settle any of the 22 civil cases. Watson has two more testimonies scheduled next week, Buzby told ESPN.
“I understand that all the circumstances are very difficult, especially for the female part of the fans in this community; I’m not naive about that,” Watson said.
“What’s going on off the pitch right now took me by surprise because I’ve never done anything that these people are claiming.”
Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, who personally met Watson in Houston before trading for him, did not attend the press conference but were scheduled to hold a Zoom phone call with the media later that day.