NYT Report Shows Damning Details On Texans' Involvement In Deshaun Watson Case
A new report by the New York Times' Jenny Vrentas highlighted the Deshaun Watson case as the 23rd and 24th lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct against the Browns QB make their way into the legal battle.
New detailing from the report notes one key element in Watson's near-three-year timeline of booking massage therapists, potentially for sexual favors, and it's the Houston Texans' knowledge of Watson's doings, which the team has frequently denied.
Vrentas' breaking report from Tuesday added new elements to the legal tug of war between Watson and the growing list of women that have accused Watson of the illegal activity and reprimanded the NFL for awarding a potential ringleader of lewd massage therapy appointments a five-year, $230 million contract. All guaranteed.
Despite the Texans' account that allegations against Watson did not surface until March 2021, the Times' report recorded 66 individual massage therapist bookings between "fall 2019 through spring 2021." Though Watson booked his appointments apart from the team's resources, he did visit the Houstonian — a hotel and club utilized by the Texans — to host several of the meetings. One woman stated that during her visit to the Houstonian to meet Watson for an appointment, she was directed toward a room "registered to a member of the Texans’ training staff."
Houston's potential knowledge of Watson's activity also surfaced in the report when the QB offered an unprovoked NDA to a massage therapist with which he had an upcoming appointment.
“I even have a NDA I have therapist sign too,” Watson said in a message.
Watson began using an NDA form when a massage therapist reached out via Instagram to threaten legal action against the QB after coming on to her. That week, Watson found an NDA form left in his locker at the Texans' stadium.
Watson said in a deposition that he used this NDA only for massage appointments because he has lawyers and agents who handle his other business.
"He later said in a deposition that Brent Naccara, a former Secret Service agent who is the Texans’ director of security, put it there after Watson told him about Smith’s Instagram posts," Vrentas writes. It is unclear if Naccara was acting on behalf of or under orders from the club or merely as an individual.
The motif among the accounts of the women alleging sexual misconduct against Watson has been the predatory luring that the 26-year-old quarterback used in order to confirm bookings.
A separate account detailed that Watson once used the excuse that he is “Just tryna support black businesses,” in order to coerce an appointment.
“I told him he can’t treat us black women any kind of way,” said Dionne Louis, owner of New U Spa, which connected Watson to several massage therapists for booking.
Stay tuned with OutKick as the story develops.
Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela