NFL Breaks Silence on New Deshaun Watson Lawsuit

On Monday, a new civil lawsuit was filed accusing the Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 in Houston, Texas.

The lawsuit has troubling details where Watson allegedly sexually assaulted "Jane Doe" -as she is referred to in the court filing- for several minutes before she managed to escape.

Watson has previously served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct. He had to pay a fine of $5 million and undergo mandatory evaluation before being reinstated by the NFL. He settled 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed against him.

This new lawsuit has understandably brought a lot of attention to the Cleveland Browns, who controversially traded for Watson back in March 2022 and gave him an NFL-record contract extension.

The league addressed the situation in a statement on Tuesday and said they are reviewing the complaint. As of now, the NFL is not planning to place Watson on the commissioner's exempt list.

NFL Addresses the New Deshaun Watson Civil Lawsuit

"We are reviewing the complaint and will look into the matter under the Personal Conduct Policy. Not looking at Commissioner’s Exempt list as there’s been no formal charges and the league’s review has just begun."

- NFL League Office

The Browns responded to the lawsuit and the NFL's official statement, saying they will respect the due process and follow the league guidelines.

"We will respect the due process our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil suit and follow the NFL’s guidelines on this matter."

- Cleveland Browns official statement

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