Deshaun Watson accuser Ashley Solis (right) believes the Browns' big contract for Watson shows they don't care about the sexual misconduct allegations against him. (HBO)
Deshaun Watson’s accusers slam Browns for ‘rewarding bad behavior’ in HBO interview
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Most of the back-and-forth of Deshaun Watson’s accusers in 22 civil lawsuits have concerned events prior to the Browns’ trade for the former Houston Texans quarterback.
That changed when two of the women alleging sexual assault and misconduct blasted the Browns for giving Watson a fully-guaranteed contract for $230 million.
In an interview on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Ashley Solis said she regarded the Browns’ record-breaking contract as “just like a big ‘screw you.’ That's what it feels like. That we don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about.”
Kyla Hayes added, “It was sick to me. I felt like he's being rewarded for bad behavior.”
The contract the Browns gave Watson has been a source of controversy also inside the NFL.
It was the largest fully-guaranteed contract in NFL history and raised the bar for future contracts of franchise quarterbacks. That’s one reason some owners, notably Baltimore’s Steve Bisciotti, expressed concern with the Browns’ action.
Others cited the construction of the contract, which severely lessens the financial impact on Watson in the event of an NFL suspension. But the format, which pays Watson only the NFL minimum salary of $1.035 million in 2022, is a common NFL practice to lessen a club’s salary cap figure in the first season of a blockbuster, multi-year contract.
Solis and Hayes were the only two of Watson’s accusers who participated in the interview conducted by veteran broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien. They mostly repeated the unsavory allegations made in their civil cases.
Solis said she started crying after Watson “put his penis on my hand” during a massage session. She said she ended the session and then heard parting words from Watson.
“He just said, ‘I know you have a career to protect.’ And ‘I know you don't want anyone messing with it just like I don't want anyone messing with mine.’
"To me,” Solis said, “that's when that's when I got really scared.”
O’Brien asked why.
“Because that sounded like a threat to me,” Solis replied.
Hayes described a similar encounter with Watson.
She said, “He wanted me to kinda make a V motion in his pelvic area. So go across his stomach to his thighs, back to his stomach. I just kept massaging and did what he asked until his penis kept touching me repeatedly as I did it. He was moving his penis back and forth as my hands moved as well.”
Hayes said that Watson ultimately ejaculated.
“That was mortifying and embarrassing and disgusting,” she said.
Watson has denied all the allegations.
At his introductory press conference on March 25, Watson said, “I never did the things that these people are alleging, and I will continue to fight for my name and clear my name, and like I have been doing, just cooperating with everything that comes with it and just keep moving forward.”
Prior to the airing of the HBO program, Rusty Hardin, Watson’s lawyer, issued a video statement in which he emphasized that two grand juries “found no indication of crime involving any type of force.”
Hardin said, “We’re comfortable that Deshaun has been telling the truth all along. He never did anything inappropriate with these women and certainly he never harmed them and never did anything that was not consensual.”
Watson’s civil cases won’t be tried, per agreement of lawyers for both sides, until 2023. The next pertinent event for the Browns is the conclusion of the NFL’s investigation and determination of whether Watson should be suspended for violating the NFL personal conduct policy.
Hardin believes that the absence of force – solidified by the grand juries actions -- should clear Watson of any violations.
At NFL owners meetings in Atlanta, Commissioner Roger Goodell said he has no timeline for a decision on Watson, but “I think we’re nearing the end of the investigative period. Then it will be handled by our disciplinary officer.”
Meantime, Watson continues to participate in the Browns’ voluntary OTA practices. They are open to media on Wednesday.
It was unclear whether the Browns would make Watson available for interviews.
