Browns' Deshaun Watson denies latest sexual assault allegations - ESPN

BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has denied allegations of sexual assault and battery that were levied in a lawsuit filed earlier this week in Texas.

«Deshaun strongly denies the allegations in the Jane Doe lawsuit filed Monday,» attorney Rusty Hardin, who is representing Watson, wrote Wednesday in a statement. «We have asked him not to comment further while this matter works its way through the courts, but are comfortable he will ultimately be vindicated. We will be ready to defend this case in court at the appropriate time, but don't intend to conduct our defense in the media. We would ask that people be patient while the legal process runs its course.»

The NFL on Tuesday said it is reviewing the complaint under the personal conduct policy, but added that Watson will not be placed on the commissioner's exempt list because there have been no formal charges and the league's review just began.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Watson will still start Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars but declined to comment on the lawsuit, deferring to a team statement released Tuesday.

«We'll let the due process play out and follow the NFL's guidelines,» said Stefanski, who added that he was unaware of the allegations against Watson before the lawsuit was filed.

In a statement released later Wednesday, Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the woman who filed the lawsuit, said he reached out to Watson's attorneys for months to resolve the matter privately.

«We reached out to attorney Rusty Hardin's office for ten months in an attempt to resolve this case,» Buzbee's statement read. «We knew this case was the most serious and egregious case brought against Watson to date and our client, who is rightly