HOUSTON — Former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson may be a Cleveland Brown now but legal problems persist here in Houston after a new sex-related lawsuit was recently filed.
On Wednesday, attorneys on both sides began their public battle as we heard from Watson himself for the first time.
“I mean, the statement is the response that we talked about,” Watson said during a media availability in Cleveland concerning this week's game. Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said Watson was focused on football.
"Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday," Hardin said in the statement. "We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated.”
“Everything he put in that statement is exactly how I’m feeling and we’re going through this process with,” Watson said.
In the latest suit, Watson is accused of sexual assault and battery involving an alleged incident from October 2020.
RELATED: Houston-area woman accuses former Texans QB Deshaun Watson of sexual assault in new lawsuit
It’s similar to the nearly two dozen lawsuits, largely involving massage therapists, filed in 2021.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for 11 games the following season and settled all but one suit.
In a lengthy statement of his own, the accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, claimed he reached out to Hardin’s office for 10 months trying to resolve things privately before taking it to court. He called this case the most serious and egregious brought against Watson to date.
"What’s interesting about this case is that it is directed at Deshaun Watson," KHOU legal analyst Carmen Roe said. "It does not include the Texans, for example, which the prior lawsuits did.”
Roe said that was likely the result of previous settlements.
Meanwhile, she was somewhat surprised two legal heavy hitters couldn’t agree to keep this case quiet.
"Because now these explosive allegations of sexual assault are out in the public and something that is going to impact Deshaun Watson even though he’s no longer here in Houston,” Roe said.
The NFL said it’s reviewing the complaint and will look into the matter under its personal conduct policy.
A grand jury in Harris County previously declined to indict Watson on any criminal charges.