When Deshaun Watson makes his 2022 NFL debut on Sunday, several of the women who sued him for sexual misconduct are planning be in attendance for the game.
Attorney Tony Buzbee told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he's expecting at least 10 women to attend the game between the Texans and the Browns. The Houston attorney said the women planned to be there "to kind of make the statement, 'Hey, we're still here. We matter. Our voice was heard, and this is not something that's over. [Sexual harassment and assault] happen every day in the United States.'"
Watson was sued by 25 women for allegations ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault. Buzbee was the attorney for those 25 women, who all filed their lawsuits over a period of 16 months beginning in March 2021 when Watson was hit with a single civil lawsuit by a massage therapist who accused him of sexual misconduct. The total number of lawsuits eventually ballooned up to 25, although Watson did settle 23 of those cases over the summer. As for the other two, one lawsuit is still active and the other one was dropped.
The one woman who has yet to settle her case, Lauren Baxley, explained in August why she's refusing to back down.
"Watson still refuses to admit that he harassed and committed indecent assault against me," Baxley wrote for the Daily Beast. "Any settlement offer he has made has been a dismissal of his evil actions, and I know that unless there is an authoritative intervention, he will continue his destructive behavior."
The Texans were also hit with 30 lawsuits related to the Watson case, but they ended up settling those in July.
When Watson returns to the field on Sunday, it will mark his first start in 700 days. Not only did he miss the first 11 games of the 2022 season, but he also sat out the entire 2021 season while playing for the Texans. Watson had demanded a trade in January 2021, but a deal became impossible after Watson was hit with the first lawsuit just two months later.
The Browns traded for Watson in March 2022 despite knowing that there were more than two dozen lawsuits filed against him and when they traded for him, they knew that a punishment would eventually be coming. That punishment came in August when the QB reached a settlement with the NFL that called for an 11-game ban.
