WHO'S TELLING THE TRUTH?
Here’s how dark a worst-case scenario for Watson, Texans could really get
Mar 23, 2021, 1:30 pm
A drawn-out legal battle could last months. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
The number of women filing civil lawsuits claiming that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson sexually assaulted them now stands at 14. And counting. The lawsuits are available for the public to read on the Harris County district clerk's website. The details are graphic and paint Watson as an entitled, aggressive sexual predator. Twelve of the incidents allegedly occurred in 2020. Two allegedly happened this year, one as recently as this month. Tony Buzbee, lawyer for the women, say more women have come forward about unwelcomed sexual encounters with Watson and more lawsuits may be filed.
Watson insists that the allegations are false and he has always treated women with the "utmost respect." If these lawsuits ever reach court, it will be left for a jury to decide who's telling the truth: Deshaun Watson or 14 or more women.
He says, they say.
It would appear that Watson's lawyer Rusty Hardin has one job now: make this all go away and fast. Deshaun Watson's reputation, image and desire to be traded away from the Houston Texans are taking a daily beating, from which there may be no rescue unless Buzbee's tortuous, steady drip, drip, drip of lawsuits stops.
While a courtroom battle between Hardin and Buzbee would make great theater, with salacious testimony involving sex and celebrity, the rich and powerful against the poor and defenseless, it's in the best interests of both sides to resolve these lawsuits privately, out of the public's glare.
Here is one possible scenario: Watson and his accusers reach a financial settlement and sign non-disclosure agreements. Watson does not admit guilt. After teams lower their trade offers, he will play one more year with the Texans during which he is jeered mercilessly at road games. The Texans will trade him after next season.
That's a possible best case scenario for Watson.
Buzbee insists the lawsuits are not about money. "I personally don't need it, and the women don't want it," he said during a press conference. The lawsuits all seek minimal compensatory damages. That could change if Hardin calls and says let's make a deal.
Of course, Watson is presumed innocent of all these allegations. Civil lawsuits are not arrest warrants or guilty verdicts. Anybody can sue anybody for any reason. However, Watson needs to end this now, before the Houston Police Department and Harris Country district attorney decide to conduct an investigation and possibly file criminal charges. While a criminal case could proceed despite an out-of-court settlement and without the cooperation of the accusers, it is less likely.
"The sooner Rusty makes the civil cases go away, the less likely the criminal investigation would ever reach critical mass," said lawyer Brian Wice, Channel 2's legal analyst and winner of the 2016 "Percy Foreman Attorney of the Year" award.
While Hardin and Buzbee are two of the most famous and successful lawyers in the U.S., and both would love to notch a win against the other in court, neither wants this case to get that far for a simple reason …the loser has too much too lose.
If a jury sides with Watson, then Buzbee and the accusers have a lot to explain. Was this a frame job against a young, accomplished athlete? Who came up with this plot? There will be questions of whether the Houston Texans were involved in the takedown of Watson. It is stunning to listen to sports talk radio in Houston and hear fans accuse the Texans, specifically team owner Cal ("or Hal," according to Buzbee) McNair and his spiritual advisor Jack Easterby of colluding with Buzbee and the accusers. It is not a theory shared in the national media.
If a jury were to decide against Watson, that would destroy a glittering NFL career and possibly expose him to a criminal charges where a guilty verdict could compel him to register as a lifetime sex offender.
A drawn-out legal battle could last months, well past Texans training camp and the start of the 2021 NFL season. The NFL is not the NBA. An NBA team plays 82 games, so each game is less important than football's 16-game schedule. An NBA player can miss occasional games because he has to be in a courtroom. An NFL player, especially a star quarterback, can't miss games for non-injury reasons and weekday practices are critical to prepare for Sunday.
The NFL is conducting a separate investigation to determine if Watson violated the league's personal conduct code. While there are no guarantees, and again Watson is presumed innocent of all these allegations, a fast out-of-court settlement may help him avoid suspension or other punishment.
According to NFL insiders, several teams still are interested in trading for Watson. However, "interested" and willing to trade equal value are two different things. Any team trading for Watson while he is under investigation for sexual assault can expect howls of protest from social justice groups, ticket holders and fans. If teams can get Watson for pennies on the dollar, though, they might be willing to absorb bad publicity in exchange for winning.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Stephen Curry closed his eyes and rested his tired head on Jimmy Butler's right shoulder as the superstars shared another postgame moment.
This time, with Butler injured and wearing street clothes — a full-length fur coat at that.
“Well first, he had a fantastic coat on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought he was going to be way too hot in that thing.”
Sidelined for Game 3 of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Butler had a front-row seat to watch his teammate take over Saturday night in a 104-93 win that gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
Curry scored 36 points with five 3-pointers and had nine assists and seven rebounds in nearly 41 minutes. He had been determined to do more if Butler couldn't play after injuring his pelvis and suffering a deep gluteal muscle contusion in a hard fall during Game 2.
Butler and Curry can compare notes on their injured backsides, given that Curry has dealt with a bruised tailbone multiple times. For now, Curry appreciates the support, whether Butler is in uniform or not.
And the fur Butler was wearing?
“I almost didn't need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. There was plenty of heat emanating from him,” Curry said before adding, “He's a savvy veteran, high-IQ guy, he's got a presence whether he's active or not where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.”
Kerr wasn't ready to guess whether Butler will be able to play in Game 4 on Monday night.
“He’s literally day-to-day. We have tomorrow off. It will be helpful for him to have another day, and then it’s a night game,” Kerr said. “So he gets a few extra hours. So we’ll see. I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”
Butler had been set to go through his pregame routine, which he does out of sight on the team's practice court and not the playing floor before games at Chase Center. He had an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area a day after he was hurt in Houston.
“We had to have Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Gary Payton II, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. “Hopefully we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and get back to our regularly scheduled program.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who didn't play for three straight games before rejoining the rotation in Game 2 when Butler got hurt, was in the starting lineup for his fourth career playoff start.
Butler went down hard when he was fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the Warriors’ 109-94 Game 2 loss on Wednesday night.
Butler tried to secure a rebound when Thompson undercut him and sent the Warriors star’s feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain, grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
Kerr appreciated Butler's insight on the bench.
“Jimmy is so smart. He reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala," Kerr said. “Incredible basketball IQ and then the ability to communicate what he’s seeing to his teammates on the bench. I thought Jimmy was important for us tonight in that regard. He was talking to guys throughout the game, and giving them advice, giving some help, and that was big.”
In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, Butler had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. The Warriors are 26-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the three games against Houston.
“We know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn’t change anything as far as that," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We didn’t make them pay, especially with the paint shots.”