Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the 24 women who had accused Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, will hold a news conference on Thursday.
The conference, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, is “to update the public on the status of the Deshaun Watson and Houston Texans cases and to provide comment regarding the pending NFL proceedings,” according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The conference comes days after former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson recommended a six-game suspension for Watson, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March and then signed a record-breaking five-year, $230 million contract. The league and players' union each have until Thursday to appeal the suspension, in which case commissioner Roger Goodell would then be authorized under the collective bargaining agreement to make the final ruling.
All but one of the 24 civil cases against Watson have been settled. Some plaintiffs will be in attendance at the conference Thursday, including Ashley Solis, the first of the massage therapists to sue Watson. Plaintiffs who attend “may share their thoughts,” according to the notice of the press conference, though Buzbee previously stated that the settlement arrangements are confidential.
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While appearing on ESPN's "First Take" Tuesday, Buzbee said his clients are disappointed by the leniency of the potential six-game suspension. Buzbee is hoping the NFL will appeal but said not to expect the league "to do anything heroic."
"Unfortunately, the exact same thing I said 15 months ago, I can say now: the NFL has no interest, does not care, about the rights of women," Buzbee said on "First Take." "They care about the bottom line. They care about making money. They're trying to manage this as a PR crisis. But as far as trying to do anything to assuage these particular women or dealing with women's rights in general, that's not part of their mission statement, and they've made that very clear throughout this process."
