The lone holdout among Deshaun Watson’s 24 sexual misconduct accusers says he will ‘continue his destructive behavior’ unless there is an authoritative intervention against him.
Watson, 26, was handed an 11-game ban and a $5million fine on Thursday after the NFL and NFL Players Association reached a settlement over his sexual misconduct case. Watson was accused by more than two dozen women of inappropriate behavior during massage sessions.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback must commit to mandatory evaluation from behavioral experts and counseling treatment as part of his punishment. But as the NFL faced a chorus of criticism for a ‘soft’ approach, Watson’s last remaining plaintiff has spoken out.
Lauren Baxley is a licensed massage therapist who worked with athletes and owned her own business. She now says she has had to quit ‘the only career I have known’ because she cannot feel safe since alleging that Watson harassed and committed indecent assault on her.
In a statement issued under the title ‘Taking A Stand’ on Daily Beast, Baxley warned Watson would continue with his ‘destructive behavior’ if he is not punished appropriately. She also called his actions ‘evil’ and says he does not ‘acknowledge remorse and wrongdoings’.
‘I have rejected all settlement offers, in part because they have not included any sincere acknowledgment of remorse and wrongdoings, nor have they included any promises of rehabilitative treatment,’ Baxley wrote.
Deshaun Watson was handed an 11-game ban and a $5m fine over sexual misconduct claims
Lauren Baxley, who has been identified by name but not pictured publicly since suing Watson last year, was among the accusers who filed criminal complaints against him in Harris County, Texas. Those women appeared in a Houston court on March 11 (pictured), when it was revealed that a grand jury would not be indicting Watson on misdemeanor indecent assault
‘Watson still refuses to admit that he harassed and committed indecent assault against me. Any settlement offer he has made has been a dismissal of his evil actions, and I know that unless there is an authoritative intervention, he will continue his destructive behavior.
‘Because Watson repeatedly assaulted women, the institutions and individuals who currently uphold and employ him must also be held accountable. I am just one of dozens of women whose lives have been eternally harmed by his sexual violence. Even one more victim is outrageous.’
Baxley previous penned an open letter in March in which she branded Watson an ‘ambush predator’.
On March 25, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said they became ‘comfortable’ with Watson after speaking with him and investigators, who did not contact the quarterback’s accusers on the advice of team counsel.
Baxley addressed the Haslam’s statements in her open letter to the Daily Beast.
‘The owner of the Browns insisted they ‘got comfortable’ meeting Deshaun Watson before awarding him with his record contract,’ she wrote. ‘I will admit, Deshaun Watson also ensured I felt comfortable before he trapped and assaulted me in a massage session he had promised beforehand was going to be ‘professional’ and ‘non-sexual.’ That’s what ambush predators do. They disguise themselves as something they are not.
Watson greets Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts at a joint practice on Thursday
‘If no one will insist that Deshaun Watson seek professional help for his addictions now, I fear that he will continue on this path of destruction for the rest of his life,’ Baxley continued. ‘The accounts of abuse and assault given under oath only scratch the surface of his brokenness. For the sake of women everywhere, I truly hope he finds a way to stop.’
Speaking on Thursday night Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the 24 women who sued Watson, was upset by the NFL’s settlement.
During a news conference earlier this month, Buzbee called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ‘to do the right thing.’ After Watson had been suspended six games by a retired federal judge who had been appointed by the league and the players’ union to act as an independent disciplinary officer, the NFL appealed the decision and indicated it would push for an indefinite suspension.
‘By settling this matter the way he has, Roger Goodell has proven one of two things: either his recent rhetoric was utter baloney, or his bark is much worse than his bite,’ Buzbee said in a statement released Thursday.
Earlier this month, Tony Buzbee called on Commissioner Roger Goodell ‘to do the right thing’
‘The message today to all victims is clear, if you believe you have been sexually assaulted by a powerful person, keep your mouth shut and go away.’
Watson was still with the Houston Texans when the 24 women filed lawsuits alleging he had exposed himself, touched them with his genitals or kissed them against their will during massage appointments. One woman alleged Watson forced her to perform oral sex.
Watson has long denied any wrongdoing, and was traded to the Browns in March. This week he spoke about ‘moving on with my career and life’.
The President of the National Organization for Women Christian Nunez said his punishment was ‘nowhere near enough’.
‘That $5million represents 2.1739% of Watson’s new $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns,’ Nunes told TMZ, ‘which was negotiated after more than two dozen women had accused the star athlete of sexual misconduct.’
‘Now with the exception of one last civil case, he can look at it and say it’s closed the door on this matter, at least the legal proceedings,’ said David Ring, a California-based attorney who is not connected to the lawsuits and who has represented victims of sexual assault.
Watson was questioned on his punishment on Thursday but spoke about ‘moving on’
‘As far as the court of public opinion and how the fans react to him, that’s something he’s still going to be dealing with, I think for a while.’
Buzbee has said he would continue discussing the remaining lawsuit with Watson’s legal team.
‘I think these victims look at it like it’s as a mixed bag,’ Ring said. ‘They didn´t get everything they wanted and unfortunately in our system of justice, both criminal and civil, it’s hard to come away with a complete victory.’
Baxley, who has been identified by name but not pictured publicly since suing Watson last year, vows she will ‘never cease to educate’ on non-consensual sexual acts.
‘I sincerely, with humility in my relative anonymity, ask that those in power over Deshaun Watson make swift and stringent decisions to prevent further acts of harm against women,’ she said in her Daily Beast statement.
‘Please remember the women who have decided they could no longer fight this legal battle after multiple courts, and multiple fandoms, told them their lives didn’t matter.’
Baxley’s open letter earlier this year came after two grand juries in Texas declined to press charges against the three-time Pro Bowler.
For months, the Browns have operated under the assumption Watson would be out for at least part of the season. Veteran Jacoby Brissett (pictured) is slotted to start while Watson is out
‘We shared the hope that he would be stopped – that somehow, he would not be enabled or emboldened to hurt even more women in the ways he hurt us,’ wrote Baxley.
‘The prosecutors led me to believe that they needed a grand jury’s approval to indict Watson on the charges of indecent assault, which is a misdemeanor offense,’ Baxley wrote. ‘That was not the case, and they let us down.
‘The worst of the women-haters came out, declaring the no-bills proof that we were ‘prostitutes’ all along,’ she wrote, adding that she and the other plaintiffs are now regularly accused of being sex workers seeking a payday.
‘I wrestle with feeling it would be easier to not exist,’ wrote Baxley. ‘Many survivors share these feelings, and some of Watson’s fans have expressed that they would like for us to be raped, imprisoned, or killed.
Baxley appeared to allude to LeBron James, an Akron, Ohio native who penned an emoji-laden tweet (pictured) celebrating the Browns’ acquisition of Watson on March 18. ‘I would include a certain NBA player along with the other disappointing excuses of men who in one breath may bring awareness to the struggles of marginalized Black women, and in the next praise the elevation of a man who abused dozens of them,’ she wrote
‘As someone who has faithfully strived to maintain the highest level of professionalism, and as someone who—in my entire career—has never experienced the type of behavior that Watson displayed, comments like that are not only infuriating and untrue, they are wholly shifting the blame from a serial predator onto unwitting and unwilling women,’ she wrote.
Baxley stressed that ‘a failure to charge or convict a crime does not equate to innocence’ and that testimony from Watson’s accusers was ‘deemed ‘highly credible’ by prosecutors and the detectives.’
She also appeared to allude to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, an Akron, Ohio native who penned an emoji-laden tweet celebrating the Browns’ acquisition of Watson on March 18.
‘I would include a certain NBA player along with the other disappointing excuses of men who in one breath may bring awareness to the struggles of marginalized Black women, and in the next praise the elevation of a man who abused dozens of them,’ she wrote.
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