Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, whom the team paid a King’s Ransom to acquire in a trade with the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, is now facing a 24th lawsuit that reportedly could be the most impactful.
According to Pro Football Talk, this could potentially lead to something much bigger:
“Hardin’s statement says only that they hadn’t heard the person’s name until Monday; it’s possible they knew, via aggressive questioning of their own client, Browns star Deshaun Watson, that there was a 24th interaction that could have resulted in a claim being made.
That’s important for multiple reasons. First, if this person whose name previously wasn’t known to Watson’s legal team now files a criminal complaint, the allegations could be submitted to another grand jury. And the graphic details contained in the 24th complaint, if repeated to a grand jury and accepted by the grand jury, could result in an indictment. (Although I’ve tried to avoid repeating the graphic details, the 24th plaintiff contends that, after trying to get the plaintiff to to touch his penis and asking her “where do you want me to put it?” he ejaculated — and “some of his ejaculate got on Plaintiff’s chest and face.”)
Second, if Watson eventually is suspended for the conduct alleged in the 24th lawsuit, the Browns possibly will be able to void his guarantees and move on from him, and possibly to recover a significant portion of his signing bonus.”
Watson’s tenure with the Browns could potentially get far more complicated, and muddied, in the near future.
