Judge Sue Robinson issued her decision against Deshaun Watson Monday with a written ruling that mentions a particular piece of evidence nine times in 16 pages.
It’s about his towel habit.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback liked to use a towel to drape himself in massage sessions rather than a larger sheet, and sometimes even brought his own small or medium-sized towel, according to court records.
Why does this matter?
Robinson, the NFL’s independent disciplinary officer, imposed a six-game suspension against Watson on Monday after he was indicted by 24 women who accused him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions in 2020 and early 2021. Her ruling noted the towel evidence nine times. , which helped her conclude that Watson had a “sexual purpose” in these encounters.
Professional massage therapists typically provide larger sheets to drape clients as a way to prevent unwanted exposure of their clients’ private areas. In these cases, the women generally said Watson exposed his genitals to them during massage sessions and caused his genitals to touch them — behavior made easier by his insistence on using a smaller towel instead of a sheet, according to the ruling. from Robinson.
“Watson reached out to women whose professional qualifications were unknown and unimportant to him,” Robinson said in her statement. “He insisted on using a towel, which increased the chances of exposure. He insisted that the therapists focus on areas of his body that often caused an erection. And he participated in this pattern of behavior several times.
“I find this to be sufficient circumstantial evidence to support the NFL’s claim that not only did contact have occurred, but that Mr Watson was aware that contact was likely to occur, and that Mr Watson had a sexual purpose — not a therapeutic purpose only – in making these appointments with these specific therapists.”
The NFL had been investigating the evidence against Watson since last year and tried to convince Robinson that he had violated the league’s personal conduct policy and should be suspended for it.
The towel evidence helped Robinson come to that conclusion and establish that he was involved in sexual assault of four women whose testimony was emphasized by the NFL in the case against him.
After a three-day hearing in June, Robinson, a retired federal judge, used a three-part test to determine whether he had committed sexual assault as defined by the NFL: Did he intend to cause contact with his penis? Was he doing that for a sexual purpose? And did he know that such contact was undesirable for these women?
The towel evidence helped demonstrate his intent and purpose, according to her statement, which also showed Watson knew such sexualized contact with these women was undesirable for them. Robinson noted that Watson’s intent in these encounters “must be inferred from circumstantial evidence in the absence of a confession.”
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“There is no question that Mr Watson preferred a towel to the traditionally used sheet for draping, and there can be no doubt that a medium or small towel is more likely to slide off a body than a sheet, leaving a client is exposed,” wrote Robinson, who was appointed to her position jointly by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
Robinson ruled that the “total evidence”, including his use of towels and his focus points for the massages, supports her conclusion that it is more likely than not that Watson had erections and that his erect penis was making contact with the therapists, as they claimed. .
Of the 24 women who have sued Watson, Robinson’s statement notes that NFL investigators were only able to interview 12, and that of those 12, the NFL relied on its conclusions about the testimony of four, along with other evidence and interviews with third parties. All but one of the 24 lawsuits since then have ended with a confidential settlement, the women’s attorney Tony Buzbee said.
Watson, 26, has denied doing anything and has never been arrested or charged with any crime. He has not disputed his towel preference.
He testified about this in a provisional impeachment on May 13.
“This is the towel I’m going to use,” Watson told a massage therapist in March 2020, according to the transcript obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
That was in the case of massage therapist Ashley Solis, who said Watson exposed himself to her and caused his genitals to touch her without her consent.
Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, previously told USA TODAY Sports that this was a personal preference for Watson and not evidence of unwanted intent. “He has always made it clear that for comfort reasons he wanted as little draping as possible that still covered him,” Hardin said in June.
“Why did you bring a towel?”
Watson was also asked about it in the May impeachment.
“Why did you bring a towel?” prosecutors attorney Maria Holmes asked him.
“Because we did – we spoke on the phone and I told her I would bring a towel,” he replied. “We communicated with that and that’s how it was.”
His habit of using towels became known in some circles as his “towel trick” and was mentioned in the trial testimony by a Houston police detective investigating complaints about Watson’s behavior.
In another case, Watson testified in a statement that he drove about 40 miles south of Houston to get a massage at a woman’s mother’s home, where he brought a towel and a nondisclosure agreement for the woman to sign.
“You’re sitting there in your car, in Manvel, (Texas), with your towel and your NDA waiting for her, right?” Buzbee asked him.
“I think if you make it seem that way, yes sir,” Watson replied.
That case and the Solis case were among the four matters highlighted by the NFL in this disciplinary proceeding with Robinson, according to directions in its ruling.
An expert in the massage and spa industry told USA TODAY Sports that most massage therapists use single-size sheets for draping, often covering the top sheet with a blanket.
“Those who use towels usually use beach towels, beach towels or large bath towels,” said expert Felicia Brown, who is not involved in the Watson cases. “Towels and washcloths are generally not used for covering the groin areas because they do not provide enough coverage, warmth or boundaries for a massage.”
She said draping is designed to provide warmth, privacy and modesty to their clients, equipment sanitation, and a physical boundary between the therapist and client.
“It is quite uncommon for clients to bring their own towel or sheet to a massage and it is unlikely that a female massage therapist would be comfortable with a male client doing so,” she said.
In her statement, Robinson noted that Watson requested that the therapists use a towel to cover his genitals instead of the more typically used sheet.
“Mr. Watson often provided his own towels, which have been variously described as ‘medium/small’ towels or ‘Gatorade’ towels,” Robinson wrote.
The NFL had previously requested an indefinite suspension of at least one season and could appeal Robinson’s ruling to extend the extension to more than six games.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
