Houston Texans added as a defendant in one of the four cases pending against Deshaun Watson

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents the women who have filed suit against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, stated on Monday that the first case has been filed against the Houston Texans, Watson’s former team, as part of the ongoing lawsuits against the quarterback.

The lawsuit was filed by one of the four women who has not settled their lawsuit against Watson.

This move was largely expected, in the wake of explosive reporting from Jenny Vrentas of The New York Times. Vrentas uncovered that Watson received massages from “at least 66 different women in a 17-month period.” As part of her reporting, Vrentas found that the Texans had provided Watson with a membership at The Houstonian, a private hotel and club, where some of the massages occurred. Furthermore, the organization provided Watson with non-disclosure agreements to give to the therapists.

In the statement, Buzbee indicates that the Texans “knew or most certainly should have known of Watson’s conduct,” language that mirrors the legal standard applicable to the Texans in this matter:

Buzbee also indicates that this will be the first case “of what will likely be many” against the organization.