The list of lawsuits against Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has now reached 19. One of the newest lawsuits contains a different type of allegation.
Via Aaron Reiss of TheAthletic.com, one of the three new lawsuits filed on Monday says this: “As a result of the repeated lawsuits against him, Watson is deleting Instagram messages, and contacting those who formally provided him massages, in an attempt to settle.”
It’s unclear based on that specific quote whether Watson is allegedly contacting massage therapists who have sued or those who have not yet made claims. Although all lawsuits have been filed under a Jane Doe pseudonym, the paperwork typically contains information regarding the dates and places of the interactions.
If Watson want to settle one or more of the claims, the best course would be to have his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, contact lawyer Tony Buzbee, who represents all of the plaintiffs. It’s never a good idea for a defendant to directly contact a plaintiff in situations like this, for a variety of reasons.
If Watson is deleting Instagram messages, that’s a separate problem. Beyond the fact that the message likes can be electronically reconstructed, it creates the potential impression that Watson is trying to hide something.
As we’ve said multiple times, Watson should try to arrange a mediation sessions that would give all parties a quasi-day in court and that would resolve all claims to the satisfaction of everyone involved. Mediation has become very popular over the past three decades because mediation works.