Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has settled all however 4 of the lawsuits filed towards him, legal professional Tony Buzbee stated in a press release Tuesday.
Since March 16, 2021, 25 lawsuits have been filed towards Watson, alleging sexual assault and different inappropriate conduct throughout therapeutic massage classes. Of these 25, one was dropped by the plaintiff when the choose dominated her petition needed to be amended along with her identify. The opposite 20, Buzbee stated, have been settled.
“We’re working by the paperwork associated to these settlements,” Buzbee stated in a press release. “As soon as we’ve completed so, these specific instances will probably be dismissed. The phrases and quantities of the settlements are confidential. We can’t remark additional on the settlements or these instances.”
Buzbee famous that Ashley Solis, the primary lady to file a lawsuit towards Watson and the primary to talk publicly and establish herself as a plaintiff, will not be one of many 20 girls to settle.
“… Ashley Solis is likely one of the heroes of this story. Her case has not settled and thus her story and that of the opposite three courageous girls will proceed. I look ahead to making an attempt these instances sooner or later, in keeping with different docket obligations and the court docket’s schedule,” he stated.
Though two grand juries in Texas declined to pursue legal costs towards Watson earlier this yr, the NFL is investigating whether or not he violated its code of conduct, and the league interviewed the quarterback in particular person final month as a part of its investigation. On the league’s spring assembly, commissioner Roger Goodell stated that he thought the NFL was nearing the top of its investigation however that he could not give a timeline for when a ruling is perhaps made.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy stated Tuesday that, “immediately’s growth has no affect on the collectively bargained disciplinary course of.”
Buzbee stated in his assertion that with out Solis’ “braveness and willingness to return ahead, the NFL would not at the moment be considering self-discipline; there could be no examination of how groups may knowingly or unknowingly allow sure conduct; sports activities groups would not be reviewing their personnel screening processes; and this essential story would not have dominated the sports activities headlines for greater than a yr.”
The Houston Texans traded Watson to the Browns in March in alternate for a package deal that included three first-round draft picks after the primary grand jury introduced it might not indict Watson on legal costs.
Final week, Watson stated in a information convention that he has no regrets about any of his actions however admitted that he does remorse the affect the allegations have had on the individuals round him.
“I do perceive that I do have regrets so far as the affect that [it’s had] on the group and folks exterior of simply myself,” Watson stated. “And that features my household. That features this group. That features my teammates on this locker room that need to reply to those questions. That features the fan base of the Cleveland Browns. That features males, females, everybody throughout the, the world. That is one factor I do remorse is the affect that it is triggered on so many individuals. It is powerful to need to cope with.”
ESPN’s Jake Trotter contributed to this report.