Attorney Tony Buzbee says 20 of 24 lawsuits against Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson have been settled

Cleveland Browns midfielder Deshaun Watson Attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement Tuesday it has settled all but four of the lawsuits brought against him.

As of March 16, 2021, 25 lawsuits have been filed against Watson, alleging sexual assault and other inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Of those 25, one was omitted by the plaintiff when the judge ruled her petition must be amended to her name. Another 20, Buzbee said, have been settled.

“We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements,” Buzbee said in a statement. “Once we have done so, those specific cases will be dropped. The terms and amounts of the agreements are confidential. We will not comment further on the agreements or circumstances. there.”

Buzbee noted that Ashley Solis, the first woman to file a lawsuit against Watson and the first to speak out publicly and identify herself as the plaintiff, was not one of the 20 women who had to settle.

“…Ashley Solis is one of the heroes of this story. Her case remains unsolved and so the story of her and that of three other brave women will continue. I look forward to trying these cases in a reasonable way, consistent with other stories of court obligations and schedules,” he said.

Although two major juries in Texas declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson earlier this year, the NFL is investigating whether he violated its code of conduct and the league has interviewed the midfielder directly last month as part of the investigation. At the league’s spring meeting, commissioner Roger Goodell said he thought the NFL was nearing the end of its investigation but he could not give a timeline for when a verdict could be reached.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday that “developments today have no impact on the generally negotiated disciplinary process.”

Buzbee said in its statement that without Solis’ “courage and willingness to move forward, the NFL would not currently be considering discipline; there would be no examination of how teams may have intentionally or inadvertently trigger certain behaviors; sports teams won’t review their personnel screening process; and this critical story won’t dominate sports headlines for more than a year.”

The Houston Texas traded Watson for the Browns in March for a package that included three first-round draft picks after the first grand jury announced it would not indict Watson on a criminal charge.

Last week, Watson said in a press conference that he does not regret any of his actions but admitted that he regrets the impact the allegations have had on those around him.

“I understand that I really regret the impact [it’s had] on the community and people outside of myself,” Watson said. And that includes my family. That includes this organization. That includes my teammates in this dressing room having to answer these questions. That includes the Cleveland Browns’ fan base. That includes men, women, everyone around the world. It’s one thing I regret the impact it’s had on so many people. It’s difficult to deal with. “

ESPN’s Jake Trotter contributed to this report.