Deshaun Watson has been hit with 19 civil lawsuits from women who allege the Houston Texans quarterback of inappropriate behavior and sexual assault during massage sessions. Now the question is, what do the Texans think about Watson’s situation? Nick Caserio, the team’s general manager, appeared on the Texans All Access podcast and said they take the allegations “very seriously.”
“We’re certainly cognizant and aware,” Caserio said as reported by ESPN. “We made a statement at the beginning about where the organization stood. I would say it’s a legal situation; it’s a legal process, so we’re certainly respectful of that. We certainly take them very seriously. The allegations, what’s been discussed, are certainly troubling. And organizationally that’s not something that we can condone, that we condone, those types of actions.”
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The Texans released two statements on Watson, but Caserio is the first member to make public comments. David Culley, the Texans’ new head coach, hasn’t spoken to the media since the first lawsuit was filed on March 16. For his part, Watson has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer, Rustin Hardin, said he believes “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.”
“I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect,” Watson wrote in a social media post earlier this month. “The plaintiff’s lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing the suit, he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected. Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me – it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that.”
Tony Buzbee, a Houston lawyer, filed the lawsuits on behalf of the women and said he would submit affidavits and evidence from several women to the Houston Police Department and the Houston district attorney. Dane Schiller, a spokesperson for the Harris County district attorney, said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the allegations.
“It would be inappropriate for the District Attorney’s Office to comment on a civil lawsuit, and we refrain from publicly discussing allegations in any matter until and if a criminal charge is filed; we do this out of fairness to all,” Schiller said. Watson’s allegations come when he’s looking to be traded from the Texans due to Caserio’s hiring process.
