Sexual assault lawsuit filed against QB DeShaun Watson

riboflav

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Oh wow! PUKE! I had never seen that before. How in the Metoo era this hasn't blown up is beyond me... other than there seems to be this thing where if you were creepy/perverse prior to Metoo and already had to apologize for it before Metoo then you're good. Which I'm not sure should be the case. I mean I'm all for considering the the context of the time in which things were done or said, but there are many things where this should not apply. I don't think it was acceptable even in the 1980s to be hunting (did he say "tricking??" minors, right? Although then I think about how Big Ben and Kobe are lionized to this day and they actually raped women. So IDK. Figuring out where the line seems to come down to did the bad man go to jail like Epstein, Cosby, and so on.
 
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Kenny F'ing Powers

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Watson is done.

Cite Tyreek Hill or Antonio Brown or whoever. Hill was in college when his major transgressions transpired. Brown was aggresive with a painter, and should have been expunged. He wasnt because there was a lack of evidence.

The NFL are cowards. Sometimes that is a good thing. Theres too much heat here to make it worth their while to keep Watson around. We know this story by now: let the public form their opinion, perform investigation that aligns with the public view. Sometimes that sucks (Patriots penalties). Other times, it works.

Bye you piece of shit.
 

Preacher

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Watson is done.

Cite Tyreek Hill or Antonio Brown or whoever. Hill was in college when his major transgressions transpired. Brown was aggresive with a painter, and should have been expunged. He wasnt because there was a lack of evidence.

The NFL are cowards. Sometimes that is a good thing. Theres too much heat here to make it worth their while to keep Watson around. We know this story by now: let the public form their opinion, perform investigation that aligns with the public view. Sometimes that sucks (Patriots penalties). Other times, it works.

Bye you piece of shit.
I was pretty surprised Brown didn’t get more punishment because a lot of his transgressions were transmitted live via social media. Hill’s guilty plea to strangling his pregnant girlfriend came in 2014 but his son’s arm was broken in 2019 and that was when the recorded surfaced where he claimed his son should be afraid of him (Hill) and that his fiancée should be afraid of him too. He was not suspended for this incident.
 

Bowser

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If Watson has done what he is alleged to have, then he's a damn, drunk-with-hubris fool for not having quietly and immediately settled this shit. What's his play now? To deny everything and pray no evidence comes to light to support any of the claims? The best case scenario is a year suspension from the league and persona non grata status forever with zero commercial appeal. The worst is he's done.
 

cournoyer

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Average Reds

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Watson would also ask for NDAs--at least vis as vis the NFL--as part of any settlement. And get them too.
I agree that Watson’s criminal exposure is probably minimal, but if the NFL really wants to interview the women, I’m guessing he might not find NDAs to be as helpful as he thinks. (Meaning - as a private organization, the NFL could simply approach Watson and demand that he release the women from their NDAs or face suspension.)

Of course, if the NFL is *not* interested in a serious investigation, the NDAs give them all the cover they need. Which means, as I think of it, you’re probably correct.
 

Shelterdog

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I agree that Watson’s criminal exposure is probably minimal, but if the NFL really wants to interview the women, I’m guessing he might not find NDAs to be as helpful as he thinks. (Meaning - as a private organization, the NFL could simply approach Watson and demand that he release the women from their NDAs or face suspension.)

Of course, if the NFL is *not* interested in a serious investigation, the NDAs give them all the cover they need. Which means, as I think of it, you’re probably correct.
Agreed. The Tom Brady example shows the NFL can and will suspend someone without much cause if they want to.

do they want to give a very ling suspension here? I truly doubt it. Maybe a half season (similar to Big Ben or Peterson) but you’re not banning a top young QB for years and years.
 

sodenj5

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My assumption is that unless there is a criminal trial and Watson is convicted by a jury, he will be playing again in the NFL, and probably sooner than you think.

I can see a 6-8 week suspension for “conduct detrimental to the league” however without a criminal case, the NFL is usually pretty toothless in these instances.

Kareem Hunt was on video literally kicking a woman. 8 game suspension.
 

cornwalls@6

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Agreed. The Tom Brady example shows the NFL can and will suspend someone without much cause if they want to.

do they want to give a very ling suspension here? I truly doubt it. Maybe a half season (similar to Big Ben or Peterson) but you’re not banning a top young QB for years and years.
Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the more I think this is spot on. Unless he's charged and convicted criminally, or there's some real smoking gun evidence, beyond his version of events VS the plaintiff's version of events, they'll be enough gray area for the league to give him an 8-10 game suspension, and then crow about how they just handed down the toughest penalty in league history for this kind of thing, and how seriously they take the issue of sexual assault, blah, blah, blah. Their track record on these cases is abysmal, and I have no reason to believe they'll reverse course in this case. He'll suffer significant consequences in terms of off field commercial viability, but I really believe he'll play in the league again. Probably this year.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Just curious, is the link here down or is this a membership only forum?
V&N does require membership.
To all our valuable visitors who aren't yet members, we strictly go by a merit system. If one's posts contribute positively to the board (interesting, insightful, analytical, or just plain funny) , we'll most likely notice the poster and offer a membership.

If any of you feel that we've missed an opportunity to do so, please PM me and/or other mods. We'd be happy to take a closer look. Now, whether you actually want to join this particular band of misfits, that's another story.
 

Gash Prex

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I don't know if that's a charitable Bio of Buzbee but I'd be very concerned if I was Watson - Buzbee appears to be a very successful plaintiff's attorney that will see this to the end and has no fear of a big case. Does Hardin still have his fastball at 79 for a case like this?

Also, lawsuit 14

A 14th lawsuit alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct was filed against Deshaun Watson by a woman who says she believes the Houston Texans quarterback is a "serial predator."
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday night and appeared on the Harris County District Clerk's website Tuesday morning, alleges that Watson "assaulted and harassed Plaintiff by exposing himself to her and touching her with his penis."
The incident allegedly took place in California, just the second of the 14 allegations to take place outside the Houston area.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31120815/houston-texas-qb-deshaun-watson-called-serial-predator-lawsuit-no-14-alleging-sexual-assault-inappropriate-conduct

I really disagree with the posters thinking this will be swept under the rug even by the toothless NFL
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I agree with this. I have zero faith in the NFL and its kangaroo court system in general but to me everything points toward Watson being done in the league.

I think the number of credible accusations just makes Watson's case different than many other examples of either DV or sexual harassment/assault that the league has confronted. As the details continue to come out, the notion that he was a serial predator is going to be reinforced in the public consciousness. This will put additional pressure on the league for a very harsh ban while also increasing the NFL's ability to argue that this is a special and extraordinary case, and so if they ban him for several years or for life then they're not setting any kind of precedent. Obviously the NFL is not actually constrained by precedent when handing out punishment, given its rampant inconsistencies in such matters, but this still will be an important factor in how they view the matter.

In the end, the NFL does what is best for the NFL and its 32 owners. What is best for the NFL in this case is likely to be kicking Deshaun Watson out of the league.
 

Gash Prex

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I don't think this is quite the defense that Hardin thinks it is:

HOUSTON -- Deshaun Watson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement that his law firm has "strong evidence" showing that one of the lawsuits alleging sexual assault against the Houston Texans quarterback is false and that it "calls into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well."
Hardin added that he believes "any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false."
There are currently 14 lawsuits filed by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee against Watson alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct. The 14th lawsuit was filed Monday night and appeared on the Harris County District Clerk's website on Tuesday morning.
In his statement Tuesday, Hardin said Buzbee has "orchestrated a circus-like atmosphere by using social media to publicize 14 'Jane Doe' lawsuits," and that the lawyer has also refused Hardin's requests "to confidentially provide the names of the plaintiffs so we can fully investigate their claims."
Regarding the case that was singled out by Hardin in his statement, Watson's attorney released a signed affidavit from Watson's marketing manager, Bryan Burney. In that declaration, Burney said he spoke with an individual he believes is the plaintiff in the third case filed by Buzbee.

"In January of this year, a woman attempted to blackmail Deshaun by demanding $30,000 in exchange for her "indefinite silence" about what she stated was a consensual encounter," the statement said.
The lawsuit referenced alleges that Watson sent a direct message to the plaintiff over Instagram and then scheduled a massage for Dec. 28, 2020, at an office building in Houston.
After leaving the room, the massage therapist alleges she returned to find Watson lying on the massage table on his stomach with just a small towel covering his buttocks. She alleges that when Watson turned over midway through the massage, he "got more aggressive, forcefully telling her to move her hand down to his pubic area."


The plaintiff alleges that she felt "intimidated and threatened" and "she was afraid of what someone like Watson could do if she did not submit to his demands." She says in the lawsuit that Watson made it clear, repeatedly, that he could "help, or hurt, her career." The lawsuit alleges that Watson forced the woman to perform oral sex on him, and that she "did not consent."
Burney said in the declaration that the woman said she wanted to be paid $30,000 "for what she referred to as "indefinite silence" about her encounter with Deshaun." Burney said in the declaration that the woman told him it was "a consensual encounter.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31122645/attorney-says-allegation-deshaun-watson-forced-woman-commit-sexual-act-completely-false

"I had sexual encounter with her but it was consensual" doesn't really help Watson IMO. Maybe if it was just one case but....not for 12 other cases. BTW do you know a lot of people that demand compensation for consensual encounters?

If defense was "I never had a massage with anybody at that time because I was in another state" - much better defense. I think the silence from Hardin is because he doesn't have much of a defense. Of course it is complicated by the fact the the Plaintiff's are anonymous.

View: https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1374456690855223306
 
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Marciano490

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I know it’s basically pro forma, but dudes saying they don’t think their bros are rapists because they’re polite to other dudes has such minimal probative value I still wonder why it’s included.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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I don't think this is quite the defense that Hardin thinks it is:



https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31122645/attorney-says-allegation-deshaun-watson-forced-woman-commit-sexual-act-completely-false

"I had sexual encounter with her but it was consensual" doesn't really help Watson IMO. Maybe if it was just one case but....not for 12 other cases. BTW do you know a lot of people that demand compensation for consensual encounters?

If defense was "I never had a massage with anybody at that time because I was in another state" - much better defense. I think the silence from Hardin is because he doesn't have much of a defense. Of course it is complicated by the fact the the Plaintiff's are anonymous.

View: https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1374456690855223306
He seems to be setting it up to say she’s a prostitute and that she tried to blackmail Deshaun because being an NFL qb known to get with prostitutes would be embarrassing. That’s the type of consensual encounter one might pay to keep quiet, and “business manager” seems to pretty clearly imply pimp. If you can find a bunch of other guys testifying that she’s a prostitute under the guise of a massage therapist, I can see how that defense could work. It seems pretty clear that they have no way to provide evidence that Deshaun didn’t have sex with these women, so the defenses best bet is to attempt to prove it was consensual
 

Gash Prex

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He seems to be setting it up to say she’s a prostitute and that she tried to blackmail Deshaun because being an NFL qb known to get with prostitutes would be embarrassing. That’s the type of consensual encounter one might pay to keep quiet, and “business manager” seems to pretty clearly imply pimp. If you can find a bunch of other guys testifying that she’s a prostitute under the guise of a massage therapist, I can see how that defense could work. It seems pretty clear that they have no way to provide evidence that Deshaun didn’t have sex with these women, so the defenses best bet is to attempt to prove it was consensual
No doubt it works in the abstract for one allegation - but he is now facing 16 different lawsuits which appear to demonstrate a pattern of sexual (assault) encounters with massage therapists.
 
Kareem Hunt was on video literally kicking a woman. 8 game suspension.
Just an idle musing with no evidence to back it up...but I wonder if there's a sense in which much of society believes that NFL players are wired, by the nature of their profession, to be violent. They get paid a lot of money to be violent toward each other on the field, and football fans love them for it. And so if a few players' wiring gets fouled up - at least partly because of the violence they receive and inflict on the field - and they take some of that violence off the field with them, an implicit part of their social contract is that such outcomes are occasionally to be expected and, if not fully tolerated, to be viewed somewhat sympathetically by the people who encourage their on-field violence. Add that dynamic to the cult of celebrity that helps famous people literally get away with murder anyway, and I can sort of understand how and why a Kareem Hunt is treated the way he's treated.

That said, what Watson is accused of isn't in the same class as what Hunt and Ray Rice and others like them were accused of. It's closer to the class of what Michael Vick is accused of: an act which is completely out of bounds relative to societal expectations to what football players can get away with. That may not have been true years ago, but thanks to #MeToo, sexual crimes are now being more properly weighted and accounted for. And I don't think the NFL would want to be so blatantly on the wrong side of #MeToo. So I'm cautiously optimistic that Watson will get what he deserves, at least professionally - assuming of course that these charges are warranted - in ways that a guy like Hunt does not.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Oh wow! PUKE! I had never seen that before. How in the Metoo era this hasn't blown up is beyond me... other than there seems to be this thing where if you were creepy/perverse prior to Metoo and already had to apologize for it before Metoo then you're good. Which I'm not sure should be the case. I mean I'm all for considering the the context of the time in which things were done or said, but there are many things where this should not apply. I don't think it was acceptable even in the 1980s to be hunting (did he say "tricking??" minors, right? Although then I think about how Big Ben and Kobe are lionized to this day and they actually raped women. So IDK. Figuring out where the line seems to come down to did the bad man go to jail like Epstein, Cosby, and so on.
I think that Ben and Kobe's legacy get the benefit of the fact that there are people who don't want to believe it and they think that it is a he said she said. At least in Kobe's case I don't think there are many people who think he did it but who are ok with it. Those of us who think he did think he's a criminal and that he should have gone to jail and think it's absurd that he's celebrated. But I think everyone else is just unaware of the evidence pointing to his guilt and don't want to look into it because they would prefer to be willfully blind because he was a great player. I think it's as simple as that.

I had never seen the Collinsworth thing. The only thing I can think of is that it came and went and nobody much really knew about it. It's very hard to defend on any ground. He's saying he likes them young before they develop critical reasoning skills. To the extent he apologized, what did he even apologize for? For saying it? Who cares. The word "apologize" doesn't even fit here. Unless he's apologizing for being the kind of guy that liked statutory rape for precisely the reasons that statutory rape is a crime.

That video is totally repulsive. I never knew about it and having seen it I just can't look at the guy the same way.
 

E5 Yaz

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No doubt it works in the abstract for one allegation - but he is now facing 16 different lawsuits which appear to demonstrate a pattern of sexual (assault) encounters with massage therapists.
IANAL, but ...

Then why won't Buzbee release the names of the plaintiffs to Watson's lawyers, so that the defense could conduct its own investigation?

I don't doubt that Watson is guilty of something here, but withholding the names of the alleged victims from both the defense and the police is at least odd at this point ... isn't it?
 

DJnVa

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I don't think this is quite the defense that Hardin thinks it is:



https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31122645/attorney-says-allegation-deshaun-watson-forced-woman-commit-sexual-act-completely-false

"I had sexual encounter with her but it was consensual" doesn't really help Watson IMO. Maybe if it was just one case but....not for 12 other cases. BTW do you know a lot of people that demand compensation for consensual encounters?
Well, you can only attack the cases 1 at a time. If they have texts from her with her saying it was consensual, of course it helps him. And I'm not sure I get your point about people asking for compensation for consensual encounters...she's "demanding compensation" as part of a blackmail plot (according to Hardin).
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Just an idle musing with no evidence to back it up...but I wonder if there's a sense in which much of society believes that NFL players are wired, by the nature of their profession, to be violent. They get paid a lot of money to be violent toward each other on the field, and football fans love them for it. And so if a few players' wiring gets fouled up - at least partly because of the violence they receive and inflict on the field - and they take some of that violence off the field with them, an implicit part of their social contract is that such outcomes are occasionally to be expected and, if not fully tolerated, to be viewed somewhat sympathetically by the people who encourage their on-field violence. Add that dynamic to the cult of celebrity that helps famous people literally get away with murder anyway, and I can sort of understand how and why a Kareem Hunt is treated the way he's treated.

That said, what Watson is accused of isn't in the same class as what Hunt and Ray Rice and others like them were accused of. It's closer to the class of what Michael Vick is accused of: an act which is completely out of bounds relative to societal expectations to what football players can get away with. That may not have been true years ago, but thanks to #MeToo, sexual crimes are now being more properly weighted and accounted for. And I don't think the NFL would want to be so blatantly on the wrong side of #MeToo. So I'm cautiously optimistic that Watson will get what he deserves, at least professionally - assuming of course that these charges are warranted - in ways that a guy like Hunt does not.
Good post CP. We’ll see what happens but I’m inclined to agree. The number of credible accusers means that this will be treated differently. I don’t think the public has really digested the situation yet.
 

TSC

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Just an idle musing with no evidence to back it up...but I wonder if there's a sense in which much of society believes that NFL players are wired, by the nature of their profession, to be violent. They get paid a lot of money to be violent toward each other on the field, and football fans love them for it. And so if a few players' wiring gets fouled up - at least partly because of the violence they receive and inflict on the field - and they take some of that violence off the field with them, an implicit part of their social contract is that such outcomes are occasionally to be expected and, if not fully tolerated, to be viewed somewhat sympathetically by the people who encourage their on-field violence. Add that dynamic to the cult of celebrity that helps famous people literally get away with murder anyway, and I can sort of understand how and why a Kareem Hunt is treated the way he's treated.
Neal Brennan has a GREAT bit about this very thing:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfBvMWB8KOU
 

nothumb

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IANAL, but ...

Then why won't Buzbee release the names of the plaintiffs to Watson's lawyers, so that the defense could conduct its own investigation?

I don't doubt that Watson is guilty of something here, but withholding the names of the alleged victims from both the defense and the police is at least odd at this point ... isn't it?
Plaintiffs know that they will eventually have to disclose their names to the defense if the cases proceed. There are both strategic and procedural reasons for a delay. The strategic benefits of waiting are obvious - why make it any easier for his team to investigate and rebut? All the pressure is on Watson now, and his team has to work backwards from whatever's in his Instagram DMs, matching it against the dates in the complaints, etc. It costs him more time, effort and of course money, all of which is just as much a part of plaintiff-side strategy in this type of thing as the merits of the case.

But also, in most places (don't know Texas specifically), the plaintiff's request to proceed anonymously in a civil suit can be challenged by the defendant, and courts can impose specific conditions around discovery and the media, etc. So it would be normal for the defense not to provide that information before those issues are addressed.
 

E5 Yaz

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Plaintiffs know that they will eventually have to disclose their names to the defense if the cases proceed. There are both strategic and procedural reasons for a delay. The strategic benefits of waiting are obvious - why make it any easier for his team to investigate and rebut? All the pressure is on Watson now, and his team has to work backwards from whatever's in his Instagram DMs, matching it against the dates in the complaints, etc. It costs him more time, effort and of course money, all of which is just as much a part of plaintiff-side strategy in this type of thing as the merits of the case.

But also, in most places (don't know Texas specifically), the plaintiff's request to proceed anonymously in a civil suit can be challenged by the defendant, and courts can impose specific conditions around discovery and the media, etc. So it would be normal for the defense not to provide that information before those issues are addressed.
Thanks
 

Marciano490

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IANAL, but ...

Then why won't Buzbee release the names of the plaintiffs to Watson's lawyers, so that the defense could conduct its own investigation?

I don't doubt that Watson is guilty of something here, but withholding the names of the alleged victims from both the defense and the police is at least odd at this point ... isn't it?
Didn’t Kobe’s lawyer weaponize knowledge of the alleged survivor’s name, saying it repeatedly in open court? Hardin is kind of a scumbag, I can see him doing the same.
 

Preacher

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Didn’t Kobe’s lawyer weaponize knowledge of the alleged survivor’s name, saying it repeatedly in open court? Hardin is kind of a scumbag, I can see him doing the same.
Yes. In violation of the court’s order. But like, he was really good at basketball.

I’m not very confident that the NFL suspends Watson for a lengthy period of time without a criminal conviction. As has been detailed in this thread, they have several players who have been caught on tape committing very serious offenses and they aren’t banned for life or even multiple seasons. Ultimately, I think the NFL’s response to this will be largely dictated by the media’s and public’s response. The fact it’s not being heavily covered by the sports media leads me to believe the NFL will try to minimize the entire thing.
 

Gdiguy

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He seems to be setting it up to say she’s a prostitute and that she tried to blackmail Deshaun because being an NFL qb known to get with prostitutes would be embarrassing. That’s the type of consensual encounter one might pay to keep quiet, and “business manager” seems to pretty clearly imply pimp. If you can find a bunch of other guys testifying that she’s a prostitute under the guise of a massage therapist, I can see how that defense could work. It seems pretty clear that they have no way to provide evidence that Deshaun didn’t have sex with these women, so the defenses best bet is to attempt to prove it was consensual
Isn't flying a prostitute across state lines to attempt to have sex with them potentially a more serious federal crime than the lawsuits he's currently facing?

Like, I get that this is maybe their best bet in terms of public opinion (we had some people in this thread note that 'masseuse advertising on certain sites' is apparently not a super secretive code), but in addition to it seeming to be bullshit based on some of the additional details in the allegations, doesn't it open them up to all sorts of other risks by admitting to that?
 

edoug

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Isn't flying a prostitute across state lines to attempt to have sex with them potentially a more serious federal crime than the lawsuits he's currently facing?

Like, I get that this is maybe their best bet in terms of public opinion (we had some people in this thread note that 'masseuse advertising on certain sites' is apparently not a super secretive code), but in addition to it seeming to be bullshit based on some of the additional details in the allegations, doesn't it open them up to all sorts of other risks by admitting to that?
1. Only if it were against their will. Then you have to add kidnapping.
2. Celebrities and athletes fly people in for legitimate reasons too.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Isn't flying a prostitute across state lines to attempt to have sex with them potentially a more serious federal crime than the lawsuits he's currently facing?

Like, I get that this is maybe their best bet in terms of public opinion (we had some people in this thread note that 'masseuse advertising on certain sites' is apparently not a super secretive code), but in addition to it seeming to be bullshit based on some of the additional details in the allegations, doesn't it open them up to all sorts of other risks by admitting to that?
I am just guessing but I would be surprised in there was a federal prosecution of the John in a Mann Act case in the last 50 years. Maybe in an Al Capone case where you have a bad guy and it is all you can get him on. But I think that by and large the feds reserve prosecution for those who are actually trafficking prostitutes for sex with others.
 

joe dokes

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1. Only if it were against their will. Then you have to add kidnapping.
2. Celebrities and athletes fly people in for legitimate reasons too.
I think the only solid basis for a criminal "across state lines" sexual assault case would be if there's evidence that he intended to assault them when he booked the appointment.
 

SamCassellsStones

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Yes. In violation of the court’s order. But like, he was really good at basketball.

I’m not very confident that the NFL suspends Watson for a lengthy period of time without a criminal conviction. As has been detailed in this thread, they have several players who have been caught on tape committing very serious offenses and they aren’t banned for life or even multiple seasons. Ultimately, I think the NFL’s response to this will be largely dictated by the media’s and public’s response. The fact it’s not being heavily covered by the sports media leads me to believe the NFL will try to minimize the entire thing.
Yeah, this is where I’m at. I’m guessing when the dust settles, we get a apologetic press conference from Watson, promising to be more respectful of professional boundaries, or some bullshit. Payouts to the victims. 2-4 game suspension from the league. Less, if no one cares about the issue anymore. This time next year, it’s not discussed anymore.

Will be a different story if there are criminal charges. Not sure what the likelihood is, but wouldn’t bet on it.

Hope for the sake of our society that I’m wrong.
 

Garshaparra

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Yeah, this is where I’m at. I’m guessing when the dust settles, we get a apologetic press conference from Watson, promising to be more respectful of professional boundaries, or some bullshit. Payouts to the victims. 2-4 game suspension from the league. Less, if no one cares about the issue anymore. This time next year, it’s not discussed anymore.

Will be a different story if there are criminal charges. Not sure what the likelihood is, but wouldn’t bet on it.

Hope for the sake of our society that I’m wrong.
We still discuss (perhaps with levity) Brett Favre's dongpic sent over a decade ago. These are far, far more serious indiscretions, and so many more incidents. I can't see less than a full season suspension, followed by the payouts and press conference as you suggested. Like Mike Vick, he'll be able to play again, but not without protest.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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I don't think this is quite the defense that Hardin thinks it is:



https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31122645/attorney-says-allegation-deshaun-watson-forced-woman-commit-sexual-act-completely-false

"I had sexual encounter with her but it was consensual" doesn't really help Watson IMO. Maybe if it was just one case but....not for 12 other cases. BTW do you know a lot of people that demand compensation for consensual encounters?

If defense was "I never had a massage with anybody at that time because I was in another state" - much better defense. I think the silence from Hardin is because he doesn't have much of a defense. Of course it is complicated by the fact the the Plaintiff's are anonymous.

View: https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1374456690855223306
This was the chyron on Shannon Sharpe's show this morning. Also, Sharpe said if you're a masseuse for long enough you're going to touch a dong by mistake.
 

Shelterdog

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Feb 19, 2002
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Didn’t Kobe’s lawyer weaponize knowledge of the alleged survivor’s name, saying it repeatedly in open court? Hardin is kind of a scumbag, I can see him doing the same.
I vaguely recall that. On the other hand she was an underage victim in a sexual assault case so I think keeping her name private was pretty clearly appropriate. Not so sure about the propriety of having Jane Doe plaintiffs in a civil case. Its' at the very least unusual and if I were a judge I'd be furious that a lawyer is keeping his clients' identities hidden to protect their privacy while engaging in a high profile media war.
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
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I vaguely recall that. On the other hand she was an underage victim in a sexual assault case so I think keeping her name private was pretty clearly appropriate. Not so sure about the propriety of having Jane Doe plaintiffs in a civil case. Its' at the very least unusual and if I were a judge I'd be furious that a lawyer is keeping his clients' identities hidden to protect their privacy while engaging in a high profile media war.
I won’t be surprised if we get a gag order when the first court hearing is held. I assume that TX provides a mechanism to pursue a case like this on a Jane Doe basis, and Buzbee is right to wait for the court to issue a protective order before providing his clients’ information to Watson and Hardin, but that’s inconsistent with turning the case into a public spectacle.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
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Nov 17, 2010
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Just an idle musing with no evidence to back it up...but I wonder if there's a sense in which much of society believes that NFL players are wired, by the nature of their profession, to be violent. They get paid a lot of money to be violent toward each other on the field, and football fans love them for it. And so if a few players' wiring gets fouled up - at least partly because of the violence they receive and inflict on the field - and they take some of that violence off the field with them, an implicit part of their social contract is that such outcomes are occasionally to be expected and, if not fully tolerated, to be viewed somewhat sympathetically by the people who encourage their on-field violence. Add that dynamic to the cult of celebrity that helps famous people literally get away with murder anyway, and I can sort of understand how and why a Kareem Hunt is treated the way he's treated.

That said, what Watson is accused of isn't in the same class as what Hunt and Ray Rice and others like them were accused of. It's closer to the class of what Michael Vick is accused of: an act which is completely out of bounds relative to societal expectations to what football players can get away with. That may not have been true years ago, but thanks to #MeToo, sexual crimes are now being more properly weighted and accounted for. And I don't think the NFL would want to be so blatantly on the wrong side of #MeToo. So I'm cautiously optimistic that Watson will get what he deserves, at least professionally - assuming of course that these charges are warranted - in ways that a guy like Hunt does not.
I dont think so, personally. I think people see the Hunt video and see a melee caused by alcohol. Most adults have been in situations that have escalated due to alcohol. Theres no approval for what Hunt did, but theres an empathy for a 2am drunk situation that spiraled out of control.

Also, again I'm NOT giving approval for Hunt (and it's sad I have to keep saying it), but his kick wasnt a hardcore swing or a kick to the head. Rewatch the video - if you can stomach it. You judge on a scale from 1-10 if he was trying to kick a 65 yard field goal or kick in a 3 inch missed putt.

The difference between an emotional, alcohol fueled 60 seconds and a serial rapist? It's a fucking LOT.
 

BusRaker

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Aug 11, 2006
2,371
Don't believe him. He's full of shit. In fact, you can now check it out for yourself. It has it's problems, but it's a great resource. Wade in slowly.... :)
I'll be excited to revisit discussions of Lefty and Righty and tragic motorboating accidents from the early 2000's :) thanks!
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
42,271
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This was the chyron on Shannon Sharpe's show this morning. Also, Sharpe said if you're a masseuse for long enough you're going to touch a dong by mistake.
Yeah, I think that's the strategy. Hope that you poke holes in one of the cases and argue that it's a hold up attempt and then attempt to poison the other dozen or two dozen cases with your claims about one of them being consensual. And then push the narrative in the court of public opinion and let your surrogates push the masseuses are all asking for it bullshit.

Ultimately, it doesn't help you necessarily in all the cases in which the facts ultimately might be worse but it is a cynical strategy that will at muddy the waters.
 

nighthob

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Jul 15, 2005
12,678
Don't believe him. He's full of shit. In fact, you can now check it out for yourself. It has it's problems, but it's a great resource. Wade in slowly.... :)
Just remember, @BusRaker, that CR67 is the friendly stranger in the black sedan asking you to hop into his car...