The first of 22 women to sue Deshaun Watson for sexual misconduct, Ashley Solis went public with her story for the first time at a news conference.
“It has taken me a long time to get to this point to come out publicly and speak my truth. I was afraid. I’m not afraid anymore,” Solis said. “I am here to take back the power and take back control.“
Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin later fired back and said Tony Buzbee asked for $100,000 in “hush money” for Solis before filing the lawsuit against the Texans quarterback.
Who is Ashley Solis?
Ashley Solis is a massage therapist who accused Deshaun Watson of assault after previously making the allegations in a “Jane Doe” lawsuit.
Solis claimed that since her encounter with Watson, she cannot perform massages without trembling and that she had to cut sessions short.
Solis was formerly known as Jane Doe #1 before she came forward on April 6, 2021.
She had filed a lawsuit under an alias due to the fear of a public backlash but now says she feels empowered to go public and tell her story herself.
What Happened to Ashley Solis?
The massage therapist said Watson sexually assaulted and harassed her in her home on March 30, 2020, after contacting her through Instagram.
According to the lawsuit, Watson repeatedly asked Solis to focus on his groin area. She said he “purposely” exposed himself and “purposely” touched her with his penis.
Solis abruptly ended the massage, and Watson later apologized, according to the civil assault lawsuit.
“I replay the incident over and over in my head as if I’m trying to wake up from some horrible nightmare, only this nightmare is real,” Solis. “I feel a range of emotions: guilt, embarrassment, shame, courage, anger, sadness and numbness. Some days I feel like a hero. Other days I feel like a failure.”
She said the victim-blaming saddens her in the media and online comments.
“I blame myself at times, which is insane. Society has groomed women to believe that it’s their fault … as if, somehow, we asked for it or we could have prevented it.”
Solis hopes others who hear her story will gain the courage to speak out.
“I am a 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,” she said in a statement with attorney Tony Buzbee by her side.
“I can no longer practice the profession I love the most without shaking…I hope he knew how heartbreaking that is to me,” she said.
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents Solis and 21 other Watson accusers, said he discouraged her from coming forward.
“Ashley Solis is a very brave person,” Buzbee said. “She is a pioneer. She will not be bullied.”
Buzbee is a Houston-based lawyer of The Buzbee Law Firm. According to his bio on The Buzbee Law Firm site, he is a former Marine officer and attended law school at the University of Houston Law Center. He has represented several high-profile clients, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
He has also previously run for public office, most recently launching an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Houston in 2019 against incumbent Sylvester Turner.
During a March 19, 2021, news conference, Buzbee told reporters that he had been in contact with the Houston Police Department, and he noted that none of the women he is representing met with the police before speaking with him.
However, the Houston Police Department stated its official Twitter account on March 19, saying that it was “unaware of any contact between HPD and Houston attorney Tony Buzbee.”
Watson has called the allegations “baseless.
Other Lawsuits Filed against Deshaun Watson
Buzbee told Fox 26 in Houston that on the night of March 22, he filed a 14th lawsuit against Watson and claims that there are now 24 other victims under consideration at his firm.
“Most of the cases allege the same, or similar, conduct,” Buzbee told the outlet of the civil complaints alleging misconduct during massages.
According to lawsuits filed in Harris County, the latest alleged victim to sue claims she was sexually assaulted by Watson and says she believes the Houston Texans quarterback is a “serial predator”.
The woman alleges in her lawsuit that Watson “assaulted and harassed Plaintiff by exposing himself to her and touching her with his penis.”
The alleged incident took place in California, just the second of the 14 allegations outside the Houston area.
The traveling massage therapist alleges that when she arrived at the address, Watson gave her, he led her to a room and “locked the doors behind him.”
After Watson allegedly “forced Plaintiff’s hand onto his penis” during the massage, he reportedly told her, “I will not have you sign an NDA but don’t ever talk about this.”
In April 2021, another accuser also alleged that Watson reached out on Instagram in December 2020, “acting as if nothing had happened.”
On March 11, 2022, a Houston grand jury deliberated over nine criminal cases against Watson.
The grand jury decision and rejected the nine cases presented to them.
While the grand jury was deliberating on the criminal cases, Watson was separately being deposed in two of the civil cases against him.
According to the New York Times, he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and declined to answer questions during these civil depositions.
Following the grand jury’s rejection, Watson took to his Twitter page and tweeted: “When you stand on the TRUTH, the LORD will FREE you!”
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