Tony Buzbee, the attorney who represents all seven women bringing civil lawsuits against Deshaun Watson, held a press conference today in which he said that he has signed on to represent five more women in lawsuits alleging sexual assault against the Texans quarterback. That would bring the total number of suits against Watson to 12, and that number could grow even further—Buzbee also said that he has talked to 10 additional women who are considering filing similar lawsuits. Buzbee said that all 22 of these women made "the same or similar allegations" against Watson.
The seven current lawsuits against Watson are all civil cases, and Buzbee said that as far as he knows none of the women he represents have filed police reports. “That’s going to be our next step,” he said. Buzbee said he has been formally contacted by the Houston Police Department about Watson, and that after he files all of the lawsuits, he plans to “put together a package” and submit it to the police. Buzbee also said that he plans to cooperate with the NFL's investigation into the allegations against Watson.
Buzbee said he heard from more women after the first woman’s lawsuit was made public this week, and added that he had feeling there would be more women with similar experiences coming forward. “Women who are watching this now,” he said, “know that you can remain anonymous, and you have a support system. We want to hear your story.”
Buzbee said one of the women he represents was referred to Watson by his personal quarterback coach, Quincy Avery, as recently as last week. Another woman was referred to Watson by a trainer who works for the Texans.
According to Buzbee, Watson’s representation has known about the original allegations for over a month. Buzbee said he got in contact with Watson’s lawyer, Scott Gaffield, who is the counsel for Athletes First, the agency that represents Watson. But Buzbee said that Watson’s inappropriate behavior continued even after he talked to Gaffield about the lawsuits.
“One of the clients we represent, even after we had correspondence and after we had talked to Mr. Watson’s lawyer, he did it again,” Buzbee said. “This conduct happened as recently as this month.”
Buzbee said he has had no contact with the Texans, and denied rumors that he is working with Texans ownership to bring forward these suits after Watson requested a trade and has made it clear he does not intend to play for the Texans ever again.
“Yes, I live on River Oaks Boulevard and I live near the McNair family,” Buzbee said. “I wouldn’t recognize Cal or whatever his name is if I saw him on the streets. This case has nothing to do with the Texans.”
