The Deshaun Watson legal drama has been taking some strange turns in recent days as his lawyer, has been making the media rounds.
Hardin, who has been pushing for the NFL to end its investigation into his client, made headlines last week when he told a Houston radio station that “happy endings” are not always illegal when discussing the 20+ claims of sexual assault and harassment by masseuses against him.
Another piece of news that surfaced last week was that the Cleveland Browns quarterback gave Houston spa owner Dionne Lewis $5,000 because he was a “nice guy,” though many doubted that was the true reason. Hardin spoke with Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today to clarify the meaning of the payment.
“She asked him to help out her business and he did, and that’s what the $5,000 was,” Hardin said. “It didn’t have anything to do with all the ulterior suggestions.”
Leah Graham, another lawyer working for Watson, echoed that sentiment.
“He was very inspired to help Black businesses,” Graham said. “That is one example of the numerous contributions he made to various Black businesses around Houston.”
At least three of the plaintiffs taking Watson to civil court worked for or were associated with the spa owner who received the payment. Nia Smith, who will become the 24th person to file suit against Watson this week, specifically cited Louis as a facilitator of massages for the quarterback and knew that he would allegedly attempt to have sex with them.
Louis invoked the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination when asked about text messages she exchanged with Watson, per Smith’s lawsuit.
Watson has denied all accusations against him.
Between the civil trial and the upcoming NFL investigation results, there are sure to be more details ahead pertaining to Watson and the allegations against him.
