Thread by @DrewFBGAuctions

I've added quite a few followers in the last month, and there's been some developments in the case that are worth commenting on....

....so it is time for a Deshaun Watson thread. Some of this will be a recap for my new followers, some of it new.

#FFLegalUpdate

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For the new folks: I'm a criminal law expert, currently practicing & celebrating 20 years of practice this year. I've done over 10k criminal cases, & countless cases involving victims, sexually related charges, & appeals on sexual offender classifications.

#FFLegalUpdate

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My podcast #TheAuctionBrief has regular legal updates where I discuss all the relevant cases facing your fantasy teams, and most notably, updates on Watson as the case goes along.

Ok let's get down to a #FFLegalUpdate.

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podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/auc…

Here's what we know. These are facts about what is happening. My legal opinions and guesses will follow.

- There are 22 pending civil suits against Watson alleging various levels of sexual misconduct
- There are as many as 24-26 alleged victims

#FFLegalUpdate

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I've read ALL the complaints.

- Some conduct as alleged is NOT criminal
- Most of the conduct as alleged is misdemeanor level criminal conduct
- 2 of the suits allege FELONY level conduct
- All of the civil plaintiffs are represented by Tony Buzbee

#FFLegalUpdate

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- the Plaintiffs originally filed as Jane Does, but after a ruling by the Court they were forced to give their names
- One Plaintiff dropped out rather than revealing her identity. The others have chosen to go forward

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- Depositions for the Plaintiffs are scheduled to begin in early Fall
- Watson's deposition is scheduled for February

The Houston Police Department has confirmed that they have talked to at least 10 women for possible criminal charges.

#FFLegalUpdate

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The investigation has been going on since at least April.

There is a grand jury now meeting to look at evidence in these cases.

The NFL has also interviewed several of the Plaintiffs, but has NOT interviewed Watson yet.

Watson is NOT on the commissioner exempt list.

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Now for the hard part - what do we do with all of this information? There is some new stuff recently to chew on.

First - is the FBI involved? Which side are they on?

This is something to monitor, but not something that moves the needle too much for me.

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On one side we have Rusty Hardin confirming that he talked to the FBI, but that it was about one of the *plaintiffs* being investigated for extortion.

On the other side we have Tony Buzbee saying they are investigating Watson.

The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

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I do NOT believe the FBI will file charges for this type of case. I'm a bit out of my depth here, but claiming "human trafficking" or the like would be a stretch. This feels like Due Diligence and nothing more.

I'm not making too much of the FBI report just yet.

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Second - the impaneling of a Grand Jury, on the other hand, IS a big deal.

Frankly I'm surprised they confirmed it, but they did just that. This does NOT mean charges are filed. But this DOES mean they are considering FELONY level charges. That is huge.

#FFLegalUpdate

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Third - We found out that the investigation is being led by the Human Trafficking department, and that the top prosecutor for these types of charges is involved (as would be normal for a celebrity case like this).

Again, this is another brick in the wall of knowledge.

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Does this mean he'll face a felony? No. That he'll face human trafficking charges? No. But it's certainly, certainly bad news for Watson.

Like I've been saying all along - what has gone RIGHT in this case since March for Watson? Nothing. Not one thing.

#FFLegalUpdate

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Fourth and finally - The interview that Amy Dash shared recently has had a ripple effect and has my legal senses tingling.

If you didn't see the interview let me pull the salient points for you.

Victim has not filed a civil suit, & also has not filed a criminal complaint.

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She came on to tell her story. And her story involved a particular predilection that Watson has for having things in and around his...glute area.

She remembers seeing an article where some other victim said Watson did the same thing to her. It clicked for her.

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Two women, who don't know each other, allegedly had the same experience with Watson's sexual requests.

Also in the interview, she described what's known as GSI in Ohio, but is criminal - touching sexual areas without consent. That's interesting, and the HPD thought so too.

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There were reports that said they reached out to her for an interview after seeing her story online. Again, not a good development for Watson.

So where are we now? We have a ton of data points, but it's hard to get a unified conclusion. Here's my best shot.

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Disclaimer: I'm not an "NFL Punishment Expert", I'm a legal expert. But this is my summation as it stands.

- I still believe, as a lawyer, that Watson's camp doesn't want this case to go through extensive discovery. I'm beginning to doubt my conclusion because...

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...depos start in about 6 weeks and nothing has budged. But if I'm Watson's attorney? I don't want all this stuff leaking out as we go through discovery. This case should be settled. But there's still lots of time, and the pressure only goes up from here.

#FFLegalUpdate

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At the same time I also believe the NFL will not suddenly jump up and suspend Watson without some further development or prodding. That could still happen, but we'd need to see something else.

This is also why I maintain that the HPD investigation is such a huge...

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...data point that we almost can't act without it.

The HPD doesn't operate off the NFL's calendar, but 4 months of investigation is a long time for crimes with almost no physical evidence. I'm interested to hear why.

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As was pointed out yesterday, the NFL makes it a habit not to investigate players until criminal matters are resolved.

This needed to be said, but for obvious reasons you don't let your client run their mouth to the league if it can be used against them later.

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So what am I doing with Watson? I'll say it again - when you have ONE victim things are unpredictable. I saw that again this afternoon during my trial docket.

One of the victims didn't come and flat out told the process server she wasn't coming. Bold.

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The other victim dodge service. Sly.

I point this out to say this: We have 24 alleged victims. We have a civil, criminal, and NFL investigation. This thing is WILD and tough to predict.

#FFLegalUpdate

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My professional opinion - NOT for legal purposes - but for your information only:

- There is too much smoke for there not to be fire
- I'd be surprised to downright gobsmacked if there were zero criminal charges from this case

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- I still believe the civil suits will be settled
- I believe we may get a resolution of the criminal charging issue sooner rather than later (this is totally a guess, but an educated one)
- I still believe Watson isn't doing what's necessary to play in '21

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Every day that goes by makes me less inclined to draft Watson for redraft purposes. Even in the 15th round.

Every day that goes by where the criminal investigation continues makes me more concerned about the number and level of charges that might come.

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I still don't mind acquiring in Dynasty leagues, but I'm less sure of that than every before as we sit here today. Any charge with possible sexual offender classification would be a massive blow. Things are so, so murky right now. I think staying away altogether is prudent.

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Am I more cautious than most? Yes. Of course. I see all the landmines.

This is only my take on it from my years of experience. There is SO MUCH we don't know. With 24 victims this thing is far from clear or predictable. Proceed with extreme caution.

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Thanks for following this HUGE #FFLegalUpdate. Please feel free to ask questions. I hope this helps summarize where we stand on Deshaun Watson.

If you found the thread helpful and are moved to do so any RTs would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

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