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Texans' Deshaun Watson accused of indecent conduct in civil lawsuit; QB denies wrongdoing


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On 3/17/2021 at 9:04 PM, Buffalo Timmy said:

Yes, what evidence have you seen other than the word of the lawyer? All four happened to have the same lawyer and all 4 did not go to the police? I will wait for the evidence but you will take the word of a known scumbag lawyer.

I don’t know anything about the lawyer - what makes him a scumbag 

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3 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

It's a puzzle, for sure.  But it seems like athletes around the NFL who are young, relatively wealthy (even the rookie practice squad guys are making money in the 95th percentile for the US, straight out of college), and have the social "capitol" of playing a professional sport, regularly get into trouble with sketchy encounters when it would seem probable to us that there would be women lining up to give them whatever they want, in an aboveboard and 100% consensual way.

 

I can only think that the ambiguity or risks of the situation must be part of the allure.  Look at the "Cheesecake Factory #### ###" story about Baker Mayfield.  Someone here who seems to have some inside info about Berea said something to the effect that it was considered "par for the course" with Mayfield's behaviors at the time and that his wife knew and was OK with it, IIRC.

 

 

 

Does she have a sister?

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11 minutes ago, mannc said:

The plaintiffs’ lawyer released some of Watson’s texts to two of the women today.  If that’s all he’s got, it’s pretty underwhelming.  I’m starting to smell a rat.

They are posted earlier in the thread - florio felt it was weak but it was a preview 

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I don’t know, the timing of this is really strange. He wanted out of Houston and all of a sudden these allegations come forth? I find that really strange. I need to see evidence that backs up these claims, I’m not saying it didn’t happen but you got to admit that the timing is peculiar. I’m going to wait and see if these women have any undeniable proof, until then I’m going to try and keep an open mind. Some of these women may have actually had voluntary sex with Watson and now they see an opportunity to cash in. 

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3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I was going to say that in jest but didn’t want to insult any attorneys on the board 

That's why I said I kid I kid

 

But if you sign up to be a lawyer, I mean it comes with the job 🤣🤣

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1 hour ago, mannc said:

The plaintiffs’ lawyer released some of Watson’s texts to two of the women today.  If that’s all he’s got, it’s pretty underwhelming.  I’m starting to smell a rat.

 

I try not to discount people who make claims out of hand, but the timing and nature of this with the media blitz by this lawyer (and his sleeze) seem suspicious. 

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20 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

I think the logical counter to Barr's statement would be that if the rest of the 70% reported their crimes to police, the number of false reports would be likely to go up as well.

 

Because I'm guessing they're including in that 70% the accusers who skip criminal reporting and go straight to civil lawsuits, much like Watson's accusers. And I'm guessing that among people who go straight for money rather than justice is a higher percentage of people who might be willing to stretch the truth for their own gain.

 

Of course, also within that 70% are real victims who are just too scared to come forward. Which makes the situation simply all the more tragic.

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3 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

It's a puzzle, for sure.  But it seems like athletes around the NFL who are young, relatively wealthy (even the rookie practice squad guys are making money in the 95th percentile for the US, straight out of college), and have the social "capital" of playing a professional sport, regularly get into trouble with sketchy encounters when it would seem probable to us that there would be women lining up to give them whatever they want, in an aboveboard and 100% consensual way.

 

I can only think that the ambiguity or risks of the situation must be part of the allure.  Look at the "Cheesecake Factory #### ###" story about Baker Mayfield.  Someone here who seems to have some inside info about Berea said something to the effect that it was considered "par for the course" with Mayfield's behaviors at the time and that his wife knew and was OK with it, IIRC.

 

That woman, taking her story at face value, was very clear about the consentuality of what happened - she knew beforehand what Mayfield wanted, she came there expecting to provide it, they chatted, then Mayfield explicitly asked "are we gonna do this or not?" giving her a chance to back out or go forward.  Mayfield came out of that episode (again, taking it at face value) looking like a sleeze, but a consentual sleeze.

 

But Mayfield had clearly put himself in a situation (again, taking story at face value that it occurred) where the woman could have told a totally different version, made him look much worse, and hired a lawyer.  Then if the "par for the course" part was correct, maybe a dozen other women woulda come out of the woodwork.

 

Why would a guy do that?  I can only think either the risks of the situation must be part of what they want, or they're so focused on football that they have no clue as to other ways to proceed.

You asked why would they do that.

 

It's an expression of power. "Look what I can get/do/have"

 

To bring it down to our level, it's like speeding, knowing that you've got a cop buddy who can get you out of a ticket.

 

You just do it because it's cool you can do something others aren't allowed to.

 

What happened here (IF TRUE!!) is like going TOO fast and your cop buddy can't get you out of it. Then all the other things your buddy swept away for you come out and now you SOL.

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2 hours ago, Victory Formation said:

I don’t know, the timing of this is really strange. He wanted out of Houston and all of a sudden these allegations come forth? I find that really strange. I need to see evidence that backs up these claims, I’m not saying it didn’t happen but you got to admit that the timing is peculiar. I’m going to wait and see if these women have any undeniable proof, until then I’m going to try and keep an open mind. Some of these women may have actually had voluntary sex with Watson and now they see an opportunity to cash in. 

 

Maybe that's part of the reason he wanted out of Houston? He was starting to get the sense he had made too many mistakes around town and needed a fresh start hoping none of this would catch up to him. It never really made sense to me that he signs his huge extension AFTER they trade away Hopkins and then he has an epiphany that the organization is a train wreck and he demands a trade.

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3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

I don’t know anything about the lawyer - what makes him a scumbag 

He has been very public with several cases through the media in Houston trying to gain leverage for cases. I don't think all lawyers are scumbags but most of the big name ones are.

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3 minutes ago, Buffalo Timmy said:

He has been very public with several cases through the media in Houston trying to gain leverage for cases. I don't think all lawyers are scumbags but most of the big name ones are.

 

This is my problem with his case strategy. Typically if you have the facts on your side you argue the law and don't engage in this grandstanding. If your facts and evidence are shaky, you use media pressure and play the man to pressure them to take a settlement. Like I said before: I don't know if his cases have merit, but if they do he's coming off as self-serving through all these histrionics.

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1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

Unless those aren't the numbers.

Quote

Research shows that rates of false reporting are frequently inflated, in part because of inconsistent definitions and protocols, or a weak understanding of sexual assault. Misconceptions about false reporting rates have direct, negative consequences and can contribute to why many victims don’t report sexual assaults (Lisak et al., 2010).

 

(Points out that inconsistent definitions, or conflating "unfounded report" with "false report" inflates those statistics - "unfounded report" can mean either false, or "one in which the report does not meet the elements of the crime, but is presumed truthful").  There are also an undefined number of cases in which, under police pressure, the victim recants and says the report was false - which have been later proven beyond all doubt to be true based on evidence collected in investigating a different crime.

 

Really don't want to go down this rabbit hole of a generalized discussion, the point is that any hard numbers in this field should be regarded with suspicion.

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3 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

I don’t know anything about the lawyer - what makes him a scumbag 

 

Well, among other things, this is the lawyer who represented Mario Williams ex-fiancee when he sued her for return of the ring and other expenditures, and who released private texts between the fiancee' and Williams in which they alleged Williams expressed suicidal thoughts.  Which seemed pretty douche-y to me.

 

3 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

It’s so weird how different men and women are. I don’t care how famous or rich a woman is, it doesn’t make her more attractive.

 

I expect if you're a rich, famous woman with time and money for all the personal trainers and workouts you want, personal shoppers to help you find the most flattering fashions, beauticians and cosmetologists, and even plastic surgery, it might just be possible to appear more attractive than if you're working 60 hrs a week and raising kids while trying to maintain a house (and buying your clothes and cosmetics at Walmart).

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The texts the lawyer released were a joke.  I mean nothing about them remotely suggests wrong doing.  

 

He claims to have more...so until I see something concrete that shows some sort of wrong doing by Watson, my suspicions of this Lawyer will remain in place.  Its always suspect to me when a lawyer opens with "Its not about money" yet immediately led with proposing a cash settlement to the accuser from the get go.  

 

And people can be pretty s***ty in general and like to pile on to cash grab opportunities.  So the extra cases and women coming forward doesn't make Watson more guilty either automatically.  

 

I am not saying he is innocent either, just saying this is all suspect in how its coming about.  So I will hold my judgement until more is known.  Its also always a red flag when the accuser goes straight to CIVIL suit vs CRIMINAL when an alleged crime has happened.  Usually means they want money and also usually means they lack the confidence in actually winning in criminal court where the burden of proof is higher.  If they really had something on him, and REALLY wanted to get JUSTICE...they would go after him criminally first, then come get money after he was convicted in a civil suit.  
 

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2 minutes ago, Doc said:

I just hope nothing like this ever comes out about Josh. 

 

Indeed.  It would kill me.  Sheesh.

Just now, ndirish1978 said:

why would you even mention his name here?

 

Well, secondhand but a couple on here know women who personally knew Watson at Clemson and have only good things to say.

So there's this disconnect/disbelief about Watson like "*****, who else might have feet of clay"?

 

If Allen or Diggs want a massage in their room, I hope they keep a witness around. 

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1 minute ago, Alphadawg7 said:

The texts the lawyer released were a joke.  I mean nothing about them remotely suggests wrong doing.  

 

He claims to have more...so until I see something concrete that shows some sort of wrong doing by Watson, my suspicions of this Lawyer will remain in place.  Its always suspect to me when a lawyer opens with "Its not about money" yet immediately led with proposing a cash settlement to the accuser from the get go.  

 

And people can be pretty s***ty in general and like to pile on to cash grab opportunities.  So the extra cases and women coming forward doesn't make Watson more guilty either automatically.  

 

I am not saying he is innocent either, just saying this is all suspect in how its coming about.  So I will hold my judgement until more is known.  Its also always a red flag when the accuser goes straight to CIVIL suit vs CRIMINAL when an alleged crime has happened.  Usually means they want money and also usually means they lack the confidence in actually winning in criminal court where the burden of proof is higher.  If they really had something on him, and REALLY wanted to get JUSTICE...they would go after him criminally first, then come get money after he was convicted in a civil suit.  
 

I hear ya.. I know statistically speaking most women don’t lie about this sort of thing BUT most women aren’t suing men who are worth millions upon millions of dollars. I’m interested to know the relationships between these women and Watson. Dates, times, locations etc and I’m interested to see what will happen when they get fact checked. Any woman who is lying should face criminal charges of their own.

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1 minute ago, Victory Formation said:

I hear ya.. I know statistically speaking most women don’t lie about this sort of thing BUT most women aren’t suing men who are worth millions upon millions of dollars. I’m interested to know the relationships between these women and Watson. Dates, times, locations etc and I’m interested to see what will happen when they get fact checked. Any woman who is lying should face criminal charges of their own.

 

Yeah, the stats kind of go out the window when it comes to celebrities who are more vulnerable to these types of accusations.  Private citizens are a different animal, but when you have a high profile person in modern day society where you can be convicted in the court of social media without evidence, it gives more temptation for people to go after a cash grab.

 

Look what happened to Kobe.  His accuser willfully on her own went to his private room.  She shows up at hospital to accuse him of raping her yet has 3 other mens  in her underwear and not Kobes.  Then drops the case to avoid having to testify.  I mean, there was literally not one shred of evidence to her claim...but when a celebrity is in this position, it can often just be one persons word vs the other.  And to to this day, people who dont like Kobe still refer to him as a rapist despite not a single piece of actual evidence remotely suggesting that rape was involved.  

 

Court of public opinion with social media is a major weapon for accusers against high profile individuals.  

 

None of this means Watson is innocent either...just for me, this all seems highly suspect given the lawyer opens with "Its not about money" after he first unsuccessfully just asked Watson for money before filing suit.  

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4 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

The texts the lawyer released were a joke.  I mean nothing about them remotely suggests wrong doing.  

 

He claims to have more...so until I see something concrete that shows some sort of wrong doing by Watson, my suspicions of this Lawyer will remain in place.  Its always suspect to me when a lawyer opens with "Its not about money" yet immediately led with proposing a cash settlement to the accuser from the get go.  

 

And people can be pretty s***ty in general and like to pile on to cash grab opportunities.  So the extra cases and women coming forward doesn't make Watson more guilty either automatically.  

 

I am not saying he is innocent either, just saying this is all suspect in how its coming about.  So I will hold my judgement until more is known.  Its also always a red flag when the accuser goes straight to CIVIL suit vs CRIMINAL when an alleged crime has happened.  Usually means they want money and also usually means they lack the confidence in actually winning in criminal court where the burden of proof is higher.  If they really had something on him, and REALLY wanted to get JUSTICE...they would go after him criminally first, then come get money after he was convicted in a civil suit. 

 

I agree with most of this.  I can not agree about pursuing a criminal case first and what not doing so means.  It could mean that the police blew it off or that they or a friend had a prior poor experience with police and were like "don't bother".  If victims lack confidence of even having a complaint taken seriously and investigated properly, much less charges are filed, much less conviction, there's very good reason for all of that.  I hope you never have someone you care for involved in that.

 

I think the lawyer was actively seeking women to add to his case with his Instagram.  Now that doesn't mean that the allegations didn't happen.  But there's all sorts of stuff about how memories and eyewitness testimony can be influenced by the way an interview is conducted....and yeah, the chance for $$ is also a factor.

 

Whether or not it happened, I'm very very uncomfortable with the way this case is being pursued in the Court of Public Opinion.

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6 minutes ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

This is my gripe. Why isn't the "first" step of the accusers to go to the police instead of a lawyer. It seems like a money grab. 

They are afraid for themselves much of the time, especially with highly thought of big stars. They don’t want their names out there. 

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