I’m going to start this post by saying that sexual harassment is a very serious issue. Women and some men, have been sexually harassed for a long time. For an almost equally long time, it has been socially unacceptable to report people for sexual harassment. The #MeToo movement has opened up the world to punishing these sexually abusing scumbags like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. I am all for these pieces of disgusting garbage getting what they deserve.
All of that being said, there are some times that sexual harassment allegations seem a little suspect.
This week, two sexual harassment lawsuits have been filed against Houston Texans Quarterback Deshaun Watson. The victims allege that Watson hired them for a massage, and during the process of that massage, inappropriately touched them with his genitals. Watson apparently hired these massage therapists through his Instagram page. The two seperate allegations were filed roughly a day apart and allege almost identical behavior. Also, both women are represented by the same lawyer.
First of all, if this is true, it is absolutely disgusting. This kind of thing is grotesque.
Secondly, why is Watson hiring massage therapists through Instagram? No offense to these women, who may be fantastic massage therapists, but doesn’t he have access to a team therapist? That person can then find someone to do the therapy for him. The fact that they were hired over social media, makes this seem more legitimate.
Where the logical mind gets a tad skeptical is with the timing of these allegations. Deshaun Watson has demanded a trade from the Houston Texans. The team, which is hemorrhaging talent, is destined for a terrible year. Watson is the team’s only top player and he doesn’t even want to play for the team. As you would expect, the asking price for the dynamic QB is incredibly high. The Texans are asking for the world, and half of Mars, for Watson. Which not a lot of teams have to give them.
Other teams, seeing the fact that Watson refuses to play for Houston, and the wishy-washy way the ownership is handling the situation, have been hesitant to break the bank with offers. And with NFL free agency starting this week, the offers seem to have dried up.
Then the news of these civil suits breaks.
Watson hits the headlines again, and the news of the trade are back to the front burner. That seems a little treacherous in my mind.
For hypothetical sake, let’s say that both allegations are 100% true. The timing of these lawsuits is quite convenient for the Texans. They were asking too much and no team was willing to pay them for a player they knew would never play for Houston again. Teams could wait until it all fall apart and then low ball the Texans for him.
So this impartial observer thinks that one of two things happened. The first being, the Texans are trying to dirty Watson’s reputation and get at least something for him in trade value. Which is despicable to say the least. Using these women to dirty a, seemingly, good person’s reputation is damaging to all of the allegations of sexual harassment that need to be reported.
The second and even more disgusting possibility, is that the Texans covered up these sexual harassment allegations until it suited them. There has been a gross history of cover ups of sexual harassment in this country. I don’t think the Texans organization is above that kind of thing. If these allegations about Watson were hidden and now “allowed” to go forward, then the Texans are as much to blame as Watson.
There is also the possibility that a perspective trade partner is dirtying Watson’s name so they can get him at a lower price. But that seems unlikely.
The Texans are desperate. They know Watson isn’t going to play for them, no matter what. And as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. The organization has shown its ineptitude of handling personnel decisions. They traded the best Wide Receiver in the league, and let Bill O’Brien run their organization into the ground. So doing something like, making up allegations, or hiding legitimate allegations, is not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, it seems likely at this point.
As for Watson, I believe in being innocent until proven guilty. The guy is known for having good character. So, it would be out of character for him to do something like this. Then again, it seemed out of character for “America’s Dad” Bill Cosby too. These women are also to be believed in the fact finding process and if the lawsuits go to trial, then a decision will be made.
In the end, if I’m wrong, I’ll be the first to admit it. But I am just looking at this with what I have now. The Houston Texans have some responsibility here.