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On Tuesday, the 23rd woman filed a lawsuit against Browns quarterback Deshon Watson. Lawyer Rusty Hardin issued a statement Tuesday night aggressively challenging the validity of the new statement.
“Deshon Watson categorically denies the allegations, just as she has since she first discussed them with members of our firm last March,” Hardin said. “She repeated the allegations on social media in August and then he denied them. The only new thing in her claims is the embellishment, which makes them more extreme than previous versions. Deshon’s denial remains the same.
The 23rd plaintiff apparently claims that two of Hardin’s colleagues tried to dissuade her from making claims against Watson. (We have not yet seen the new complaint.)
“The two highly respected lawyers from our firm, Letitia Kinones and Rachel Lewis, also categorically deny that there was any coercion or intimidation involved in the very cordial meeting with Vic and Anthony,” Hardin said. “They met with her to see if she was one of Mr. Busby’s anonymous plaintiffs. At the time, Mr Busby declined to identify his clients. The assumption that one of these two experienced lawyers would say “we black women should stick together” is absurd. The interview was so enjoyable that she joined the lawyers for dinner afterwards.
The new plaintiff, like the other 22, is represented by Tony Busby. Hardin’s team tried to make Busby the focal point of his attack, accusing him of using these cases to improve his followers on social media and to interview Bryant Gumbel on shows such as Real Sports.
“We know that more than a year ago she had other lawyers representing her, and they eventually terminated her representation,” Hardin said. “This plaintiff has had revenge against Deshon for a long time, since she jealously and angrily published Deshon’s personal data on social media in November 2020. She has apparently not been affected by recent events in her case. We are not surprised that Mr Busby was willing to say almost anything to get more publicity. He knows that the NFL continues to investigate these cases, and this is a transparent attempt to further punish the person he sees as a potential payday. “
Watson has consistently denied the allegations made by those prosecuting him. Nevertheless, there are now 23 different women judging him. Except for an agreement or dismissal, there will eventually be 23 lawsuits. The fact that the 23rd lawsuit has been filed now practically guarantees that this legal odyssey will last until 2023 and probably until 2024.
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