Massage therapist accuses Deshaun Watson of threatening message following encounter
Ashley Solis, a massage therapist who is one of 22 women to accuse Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct, provided more harrowing details about their encounter in a recent report released by the NFL. During an appearance on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Solis revealed the ominous words Watson said to her as he left her Houston area home.
“I know you have a career to protect,” Solis claims Watson said. “I know you don’t want anyone messing with it just like I don’t want anyone messing with mine.”
Solis said she took that as a threat and it caused her to feel frightened. A previous report from USA Today claimed that she was crying as Watson left, which prompted him to send this text message in response:
“Sorry about you feeling uncomfortable,” he wrote, according to a screenshot of it previously posted by Solis’ lawyers. “Never were the intentions. Lmk if you want to work in the future. My apologies.”
Solis did not reply to the text, according to the lawsuit.
Deshaun Watson was not arrested or charged in any of the cases against him after two grand juries declined to indict him on criminal charges. However, he’s still facing 22 civil cases regarding sexual misconduct allegations, and has more pretrial depositions scheduled for June.
He is also facing a potential suspension from the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy. Watson was interviewed by league investigators last week regarding the matter, and commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is “nearing the end of the investigation.”
Former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, a disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the league and NFL Players Association, is the one deciding whether Watson violated the personal-conduct policy. If Watson is suspended and appeals, Goodell would handle any reexamination.
Watson did not play at all this past season as he awaited the results of the criminal cases. After it was revealed that he would not face charges, the Houston Texans promptly traded him to Cleveland. There, he was awarded a five-year contract extension worth $230 million that would make him the highest-paid player in the league.
Solis said seeing that after all that she had been through was like a slap in the face.
“It’s just like a big screw you,” she said. “That’s what it feels like. That we don’t care. He can run and throw, and that’s what we care about.”
The interview with Solis on HBO also featured another massage therapist, Kyla Hayes, and several other people with knowledge of the Deshaun Watson case. One of Watson’s lawyers, Leah Graham, was asked to explain on the show why, if he was only seeking professional massages, did Watson end up having sex with some of the women.
“Well, in every massage, I will tell you he did go, intending just for a professional massage, and only those three instances where sexual conduct occurred — consensual sexual activity — it occurred after the massage session had ended,” Graham said. “And Mr. Watson has testified and is insistent that that sexual activity was initiated by the plaintiff in every single instance.”
The full interview is set to be released Tuesday evening on HBO.