The 24th lawsuit filed against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson opens with general allegations regarding Watson’s alleged habit of securing massages via Instagram. One specific excerpt from the first page of the complaint stands out.
“Defendant Deshaun Watson has a disturbing pattern of conduct,” the complaint contends. “Each of the cases against him is strikingly similar, evidencing a habit or custom: Watson seeks out random strangers on Instagram, as he has done more than a hundred times.”
More than a hundred times. Presumably, there’s evidence to support that claim. Evidence that likely comes from efforts to develop relevant facts in the other cases.
Rusty Hardin laments media’s failure to investigate credibility of the women suing Deshaun Watson
If it’s true that Watson has used social media to secure “more than a hundred” massages from “random strangers,” that’s a dynamic about which the league office clearly should be concerned. Regardless of the specific allegations and defenses in each of the various cases, these circumstances — combined with the recent efforts of attorney Rusty Hardin to normalize the practice of receiving and/or seeking “happy endings” — paint a troubling picture.