Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is currently under hot fire in court as he is facing 22 lawsuits of sexual assault and misconduct. The women, save for two of them who went out in public with their accusations, opted to remain anonymous with their filings. However, a Texas court reportedly ruled that the women publicly disclose their names.
Via Mike Florio of NBC Sports, one of the accusers reportedly received a ton of backlash, and even death threats after coming out in public:
Via Mike Meltser, attorney Tony Buzbee opposed the motion to require the use of the plaintiff’s name by arguing that Ashley Solis has received at least 10 death threats since going public on Tuesday. That argument did not prevail, and frankly it could make the 20 unnamed plaintiffs more likely to accept a reasonable settlement in lieu of attaching their names to their claims against Watson.
It's easy to see why the Texas court made the ruling. As Florio mentioned in the article, this is so that “the defendant has fair notice of the claims being made and the person who is making them.” However, given what Ashley Solis is experiencing, it's hard to fault the women for opting to keep their anonymity. While some fans may think it to be nothing, death threats are no joke. Here is one example of threats being made by fans, according to Kalyn Kahler of Defector Media.
Buzbee's team has filed two exhibits regarding the first lawsuit, Ashley's Solis' case. A look inside her Instagram DMs, and emails. Also, a woman who shares her name says she's also been threatened by fans. pic.twitter.com/NaG6Uowixv
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) April 9, 2021
Of course, there are always two sides to look at and disclosing the names of the plaintiffs allows for transparency, especially for Watson's sake. The Texans quarterback has denied the accusations, but he has already suffered consequences as a result of the allegations. Nike didn't take them lightly and has already suspended its endorsement of Deshaun Watson.
Follow Us
Subscribe