(L-R: Soledad O’Brien and Ashley Solis)Photo: Photo courtesy of HBO Media Relations
CLEVELAND - New Browns quarterback has met with the NFL and his fate is still to be determined on whether he will be suspended by the league. No criminal charges have been filed against Watson but he still faces a civil law suit as 22 women have accused him of sexual misconduct.
HBO has released interview excerpts prior to Tuesday night airing of Real Sports with two of the accusers, Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes. Journalist Soledad O'Brien did interviews with both women and Watson's attorney Leah Graham.
Nature of alleged abuse
ASHLEY SOLIS: As I'm working, he deliberately grabs himself and put his penis on my hand. And I pulled my hand away instantly and I started crying. And I told him that I'm done. I don't wanna do this anymore.
KYLA HAYES: He wanted me to kinda make a V motion in his pelvic area. So go across his stomach to his thighs, back to his stomach. I just kept massaging and did what he asked until his penis kept touching me repeatedly as I did it. He was moving his penis back and forth as my hands moved as well.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It allowed him to, kind of, put his penis on to your hands?
HAYES: Exactly.
O’BRIEN: And you thought that was intentional?
HAYES: It was intentional
O'BRIEN: So how did it end?
HAYES: At some point, he did ejaculate. That was mortifying and embarrassing and disgusting.
[Watson denies any impropriety or sexual contact of any kind with either Ashley Solis or Kyla Hayes]
Watson’s parting message
SOLIS: He just said, "I know you have a career to protect." And "I know you don't want anyone messing with it just like I don't want anyone messing with mine." To me, that's when that's when I got really scared.
O'BRIEN: Why?
SOLIS: Because that sounded like a threat to me.
[Watson denies that this exchange took place]
Reaction to Watson’s $230 million contract
SOLIS: It's just like a big screw you. That's what it feels like. That we don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about.
HAYES: It was sick to me.
O'BRIEN: Why?
HAYES: I felt like he's being rewarded for bad behavior.
TONY BUZBEE (Lawyer for Watson accusers): I don't think the team cares about what Deshaun Watson may have done in a massage session. And based on my personal experience with the NFL, I don't think they care either.
[Watson denies any wrongdoing in connection with the 22 plaintiffs]
EXCERPTS FROM Q&A WITH LEAH GRAHAM
O’BRIEN: For Deshaun Watson to be innocent, 22 women would have to be lying. Why would the public believe one man versus 22 different women?
GRAHAM: It's 22 women. It's one lawyer. There's only one lawyer who was willing to take these cases. And as we know from Ashley Solis’ deposition, Mr. Buzbee was not the first, probably not the second or third lawyer she went to, but he was the only one to take her case. Why? Not because it had merit, but because he would use these cases to increase his social media following and quite frankly to get on shows like this one.
O’BRIEN: Deshaun Watson has insisted that in these massages, that he was looking for nothing other than professional services, but we know he did have sex with three women, right? Oral sex with two, vaginal sex with another. So how do you explain unintentionally ending up having sex with people who are giving you professional massages?
GRAHAM: 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. And Mr. Watson has testified and is insistent that that sexual activity was initiated by the plaintiff in every single instance.
O’BRIEN: He said he has no regrets. Is that still true? He has no regrets?
GRAHAM: As he testified in his depositions last week, yes, he has no regrets because he did nothing wrong. He did nothing wrong in these massages. And although-- to your first question, "How can he be innocent?" I think the real question is, "What evidence is there of any guilt?"
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