Thread by @DrewDavenportFF

Ok I've had a few minutes to read over the new Complaint against Deshaun Watson. I've seen media reports about what's in it, but when we have the primary source it's always best to start there.

Here's an #FFLegalUpdate about the new suit and what it means.

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The suit was filed today, 5/31, in the same court as the other pending suits. The causes of action are:

1 - Civil Assault
2 - Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
3 - Negligence and Gross Negligence

These are mostly in line with the other suits.

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One thing I want to caution you all to remember: I know Tony Buzbee is seen by some people as kind of a joke or looking for attention. I don't personally know how he practices law, but I will say this - he continues to work every advantage he has and is a shrewd operator.

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He has correctly assumed that the public reaction to the new suit would be, "why now?" This would lead to speculation about the veracity of the complaint itself (justified or not).

The lead-in to the suit is clearly aimed at letting people know that this woman...

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...is not coming in late to latch on or get a quick payday. Quite the opposite. The suit details a long history of involvement in this case for the Plaintiff, from the very start of the case when it went public.

For example, the suit states that the Plaintiff was...

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...one of the first women contacted by Watson's legal team after this stuff started becoming public. She was allegedly taken to dinner by a member of his legal team to see if she was filing/had filed and if she would support Watson publicly. She declined.

#FFLegalUpdate
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Subsequently she spoke out, even appeared on a show publicly to talk about the case, but did not want to file suit. She felt the downside of the death threats and the ugliness of a long civil case wasn't worth filing. That changed when she saw the HBO interviews recently.

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She was struck both by their courage, & by her opinion that Watson's comments and his team's "revictimization" of the women was too much. She decided to file suit as a result. She is seeking minimal monetary compensation, but is more interested in a finding that he was wrong.

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As I've said before, the suits range in conduct from minor, non-criminal behavior, to felony-level conduct.

But, this suit tracks quite closely with behavior alleged in the other 22 suits. Notably, Watson's M.O. seems to be a clear pattern Buzbee wants to establish.

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They allege that:
- contact was made over Instagram
- the Plaintiff is a licensed Cosmetologist
- Watson emphasized ahead of time wanting focus on his glutes
- Watson refused to be "draped" like in a normal massage

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- repeatedly made increasingly aggressive sexual advances over 3 sessions
- exposed his genitals
- attempted to grab Plaintiff's genitals
- attempted to have Plaintiff touch him inappropriately

But, the biggest bombshell that was dropped?

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This allegation: "[name redacted], the owner of the spa, facilitated massages for Watson and knew Watson was attempting to have sex with them...It was later learned that Watson paid...at least five thousand dollars for [redacted]'s work."

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So what do all the new allegations do to the case, and to his status with the NFL? There are some questions we don't have answers to.

Did this Plaintiff already speak to the NFL? Do they know what she knows or will they learn that as part of their investigation?

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But as I said before, Buzbee is no fool. He continues to use what is at his disposal to keep the pressure on in the court of public opinion.

An interesting side note to this - Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, appeared on a podcast recently.

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He said that it's been hard for them to stay quiet, but it was their strategy all along to focus on the right audiences - the NFL, the police, and the DA. That left them vulnerable to the public's opinion, but that was a deliberate strategy.

#FFLegalUpdate

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Buzbee, on the other hand, is using the interviews with HBO, this new suit, and anything he can to continue to pressure the NFL into taking action, and to continue to leverage his case for his clients. At some point the league has to pay attention to the public opinion.

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But in the end, does this new suit move the meter for me? Not too much. My opinion about whether this stuff happened didn't need a 23rd woman for me to make up my mind. I'm sure the league feels the same.

Having said that, does this tip the scales on this case in some way?

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That's possible. The camel can only hold straw for so long. Critical mass may not have been reached yet, but it will at some point. We don't know what the NFL knows. A new suit, with the new allegations, is keeping the limelight squarely on the league's response.

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Again, this case alone doesn't move the meter, but has this situation come too far for the NFL to wait on the civil case outcome? Something has to give, and I'm still of the opinion that Watson will see a suspension in 2022. How long is anyone's guess.

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The best way to stay up to date on what is happening with this case is to subscribe to my show, The Auction Brief. A new episode drops this Thursday, and every week from now until September.

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podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/auc…

I also do legal updates on my TikTok account, @ fantasyfootballlawyer. Check me out over there!

As always, thanks for reading this far. Please RT the first tweet if this helped you. If not, thanks for the support.

This has been your #FFLegalUpdate - have a great week!

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