Deshaun Watson‘s attorney says 18 professional female massage therapists are going to bat for the QB — saying they had nothing but positive experiences with him over the years.
Rusty Hardin says the women all worked with the Houston Texans QB at some point over the past 5 years — completing more than 130 sessions without any sort of incident.
Hardin issued a statement saying, “These women say they are deeply troubled by the accusations made against Deshaun and that these claims are wholly inconsistent with their experiences with him and who they believe him to be.”
“All of them stated that Deshaun never made them feel uncomfortable or demanded anything outside the scope of a professional massage.”
“None of them experienced any of the behavior alleged by anonymous plaintiffs in the numerous lawsuits filed by the same Houston attorney.”
Hardin says the 18 women he’s been in contact with agreed to issue on-the-record statements supporting Watson.
“These statements show the other side to this story that has been so lacking in the flurry of anonymous complaints filed by opposing counsel.,” Hardin says.
The first masseuse is Myah Roberson — described as “a licensed massage therapist, who has been working in Houston for 10 years, primarily on athletes.”
“I started working with Deshaun in December 2019 after being referred to him by another therapist. He sent me a screenshot of a diagram that the head trainer of the Texans gave him, highlighting the muscles that needed to be worked on, which included the groin and hamstrings. He asked if I felt comfortable working on those areas and I said yes, because I am used to working on athletes.”
“During the massage, Deshaun was more comfortable using a towel than draping sheets over the table; this isn’t unusual at all. I have several clients that prefer using a towel over sheet. We began using a towel, and that became the norm. When I saw that the first lawsuit mentioned a towel, I chuckled because I gave him that idea. And it’s not inappropriate because they teach you in massage school that using a towel is okay. Some of these accusations are so ludicrous. I just can’t see him doing any of those things. He was never inappropriate with me. I never felt threatened in any way.”
Most of the statements from the other 17 share similar experiences –Watson is described as a “professional and polite” client who’s been “respectful.”
Multiple therapists also point out that sometimes male clients will become aroused during a treatment — but they’re trained on how to handle that situation appropriately.
Norma Reyna — described as board-certified in therapeutic massage and body work — put it this way:
“When working the adductors and groin/pelvic area, it is not uncommon to accidentally graze the penis, but you don’t engage it. I teach my students to use a firmer touch or to move to a different area if a client gets aroused during a session, which sometimes happens.”
Reyna did NOT say if that ever happened with Watson — she was speaking in generalities.
As we previously reported, 21 women have filed lawsuits against Watson accusing the QB of sexual misconduct. All of the accusers have used a pseudonym to protect their identity.
Watson has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the accusers are liars looking to publicly shame him into a payout.
Story developing …
You can view the original article HERE.
