A woman who initially filed an anonymous sexual misconduct lawsuit against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has now stepped forward and identified herself as massage therapist Ashley Solis.
Appearing in a Tuesday press conference with her attorney, Tony Buzbee, Solis claimed she was going public to “take back power” over her life.
“I’m here to take back the power and take back control,” the woman exclaimed. “I’m a survivor of assault and harassment.”
Solis said that Watson harassed her at her home on March 30, 2020, when he arrived to utilize her services as a massage therapist.
“Some days I feel like a hero, other days I feel like a failure,” she said, adding that the incident with Watson has caused her mental anguish.
“I can no longer practice the profession I love the most without my hands shaking during the session,” she continued. “I got into massage therapy to heal people. To heal their minds and bodies. To bring peace to their souls. Deshaun Watson has robbed me of that.”
Solis said she filed the suit against the 25-year-old player because she is suffering panic attacks and depression because of the harassment.
“We were all deceived into thinking Deshaun Watson was a good guy, and unfortunately, we know that good guys can do terrible things,” Solis said.
“People say that I’m doing this just for money. That is false. I come forward now so that Deshaun Watson does not assault another woman,” Solis concluded.
Ashley Solis is the first woman to come forward publicly to accuse Deshaun Watson of sexual assault'
"I am survivor of assault and harassment, Deshaun Watson is my assaulter and my harasser, he assaulted me at my home doing what I love most, massage therapy" pic.twitter.com/oA8luucYNk— gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2021
Ashley Solis "My father, who was once a diehard Texans fan, can no longer mention his name without turning red…we were all deceived into thinking Deshaun Watson was a good guy and unfortunately we know that good guys can do terrible things" pic.twitter.com/LLuCoJ7aqQ
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2021
A total of 21 women have filed sexual misconduct lawsuits against Watson, most working in the field of massage therapy.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, has fully denied all the accusations. Hardin also slammed Buzbee as pushing a money grab. And Watson himself has said that he thinks the lawsuits amount to “blackmail.”
However, despite the avalanche of accusations, no official charges have been filed against the player. Further, neither the NFL nor the Houston Texans have issued any statements beyond saying they are monitoring the situation.
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