Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The National Football League is reviewing new allegations of sexual assault made against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson in a civil lawsuit, the league said Tuesday. “We are reviewing the complaint, and we will look into the matter under the personal conduct policy,” an NFL spokesman confirmed.
The lawsuit filed in Texas alleges that Watson sexually assaulted a woman at her apartment in October 2020. The lawsuit says that while the woman was in her bathroom putting on makeup, she emerged to discover Watson lying face down and naked on her bed. The NFL star asked her to massage his buttocks and when she began to rub his back, he then turned over and asked her to massage his groin. Before she could reply, Watson “partially disrobed” the woman and sexually assaulted her before “storming out” of her apartment.
The allegations come just over two years after Watson was suspended for 11 games and fined $5 million in August 2022 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy following accusations by some 25 women of sexual misconduct during personal massage sessions. He subsequently reached settlements with 23 of his accusers. The woman making the latest allegations against him was not among his original accusers, US media reports said Tuesday.
Two grand juries in Texas heard complaints against Watson in 2022 but declined to indict him. Watson left the Houston Texans for Cleveland in a blockbuster trade two years ago that made him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
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