A clip from one of the DeShaun Watson depositions leaked by his
not his lawyer. But the other side Tony Busby represents a 22
individuals suing to Sean wads allowed eight in Cleveland.
Yes, it is allowed because there's no protective order.
I confirmed yesterday. There's no
issuance from the court saying. This stuff is secret because
this, this is essentially no different than testifying in
open court. These are public records. They're free to be
filed with court papers. There's Nothing that prevents
anyone
from giving out the transcript, playing the full video, if they
choose to do it posting it all on YouTube. If they want to,
I'm surprised that hasn't happened
yet, but it was Busby who's putting out this edited clip, that
obviously, is aimed at making DeShaun Watson, look bad. And
one specific point, here's where it's critical, and
I don't know anything about the credibility, the 22 individuals
who have sued DeShaun Watson. We've seen no clips from their
deposition. Transcripts. And I don't know if that implies,
they are credible. They aren't credible, whatever.
But
credibility is is a critical element of a case like this.
When you take into account. The fact
that every 22 every one of these 22 cases going to come
down to Deshawn Watson's word against the word of
the individual, and they were in the room together with no
Witnesses. Remember we talked last year, at the outset, gotta
have a witness present for something
like this, because you never know how it's going to
be remembered by the two parties, if it's just them
later,
so,
How to Charles Watson is able to tell a story that is
believable is going to be critical in every one of these
cases and they're eventually will be absent a settlement or
dismissal, 22 separate cases.
So, whether you can believe be believed on other things is
going to be relevant to. Whether you can be believed on
the most important things, you know, DeShaun Watson wants to
be able to recite from the car that he had last week. I never
assaulted anyone.
I never disrespected anyone and ever harassed anyone
fine,
but when you get down to some of these details, he's at like
this back and forth. Did you find her attractive? Well II,
I've got a girlfriend.
Really,
that's your position.
And then you throw on top of it, on top of it. The admission
from his lawyer from last year that some of these massages
became consensual sexual encounters, that kind of blows
the whole. I've got a girlfriend
defense out of the water.
That's where it can be very, very tricky. And that's where
your credibility can be undermined on one point and
that can then be used by a Tony Busby to make an argument to
a jury.
You know, you're asking yourselves. Can we believe this
guy when he says nothing? Happened. That shouldn't have
happened, but you gotta ask yourself. Can you really
believe him? And here's how you
answer. That question
on a fairly obvious topic. He said something that's not
believable. It's not objectively believable. And
I look, I don't want to get the Hostile text messages and phone
calls europol. I'm not against DeShawn.
I'm for the truth.
And when I hear that,
you know, you kind of want to roll your eyes.
Did you find her attractive?
Well, I wasn't thinking about that.
Well, did you Yuri avoided the question? I wasn't my question.
You find her attractive while I've got a girlfriend.
I know, but you're awesome. No reaction when you heard it.
Well, yeah, we going on. There's better ways to answer
it. Certainly there. No doubt. I will say to though,
you know, to defend him in this, you know, you're being
coached, you're afraid to say anything. He's afraid to say
anything. So you're the. That's where it's a little weird too.
Well, that's not, that's not how you coach him, you know,
you coach him
because I've had clients who have done that right where they
feel like, they need to engage in some form of swordplay with
the Lawyer to try to keep the lawyer from trying to make his
point. Like, you get a sense where the lawyer is going.
The lawyer is asking you, a series of questions that are
very well-crafted and it's forcing you into a corner and
you don't like it. So you resist being forced into
a corner, right? So it's no, no, just go ahead.
I've had to stop depositions.
I've had to, I've had to embellish the urgency to go to
the bathroom to stop at that position.
To get the client out in the hall
and tell the client.
You got to stop this.
You not trying to win the case
through your testimony. All you should be trying to do
is answer the questions
truthfully. And that what I told you
answer every question truthfully.
I'll deal
with whether or not the truth
is going to hurt us or help us but I'm fine with the truth.
I know the truth. You've told me the truth now, go tell
him the truth. He asks
questions and don't feel like oh no.
No, we're losing the case here. I have to push back. That's
what happens. That's what happens.
And that's one of the challenges
of getting someone ready. And it's why I said
that week when he was getting ready to be questioned.
Remember when I said that week and what I said
was that deposition you have depositions coming up. You
don't need to be. Oh, yeah, fattening is in three hours and
all that be visiting to zoom meetings with teams face to
face meetings with teams. You don't need to be worried about
that. You need to be worried about one thing
being ready for this deposition. Remembering
everything. I told you getting a good Sleep and going in there
fully aware and cognizant locked in of what your job is.
And it's very simple but it's also very difficult.
Just tell the truth in response to the questions. It becomes
difficult. When you feel like the lawyer is scoring points
and you're making it easier for him because you're giving him
the answer that he expects if it's the truth.
It doesn't matter. Give him the answer, he expects, as long as
it's a truthful answer. So that's where that's where it
gives me concern, because not that now will be an 80 pound.
Wait, that that is dragging on the case
when it's time to go to trial. Yeah. Well, it's this is like
he's going to have this 80-pound weight on them. No
matter what every press conference. She has Mike.
I mean, even you know, the one on Friday with the Cleveland
Browns,
you know, there was some people there who I can't remember
exactly what it was that they didn't believe. Right. The fact
of you know, Cleveland was never out of it or it was one
of those, it was something one aspect of my contract, your
contract.
Write the contract wasn't a fact. Wasn't a factor. Right?
Right, which, you know, of course, the again,
I'm sorry. These are, you know, the position to Sean Watson's
in right now, but people look at that and you read comments
on social media, or your post, and it's
hey, right BS. He's a liar. He's a liar. He's a liar. He's
a liar. If he lies about that, a lie about this bubble. Whoa,
he has how it works. I know that's how it works. I know.
Well, what, but why in the world would he say? The
contract wasn't a factor when it clearly was? I don't matter
what makes, that's what makes Me question his credibility
I get and I know how dare you I know I'm going to get the text
of the phone call. I
your against Shawn. No.
No, I why didn't somebody tell him to go ahead and say it's
okay
to say it's about the of course. It's about the colors
because he's a great job prayed to her Cleveland's fans and
didn't want to make it look like, oh, it was only the money
that brought me back here. So yeah, you talk to anybody that
has any knowledge of the situation.
The reports that are originally out there
from everything. I've been led to believe. You're correct.
Steven was out of it. They did moved on.
They were looking at other teams that Cleveland realize.
Oh crap, we really screwed things up with Baker. Mayfield.
We got to make him an offer. He can't refuse like Godfather
style.
That's what they did.
Right? And then, you know, this this the other aspect of this is
I just I have a hard time thinking that this isn't going to be
something that continues to go on
a release of a video here of release of a video there.
I mean, the case our settled if I'm Tony Busby
no, this is what I'm going to do to continue to put pressure
and and Stoke up the flame of this conversation at Cleveland
here. You are you watch another clip? This guy and
the deposition not answering a question that smoothly. Do you
like this guy's a quarter?
He's going to continue to bring this stuff up until this gets
settled or he gets the result. He wants out of this.
Yeah.
The the reality is that he's trying to increase
the settlement pressure on DeShaun Watson, and this is a way to do
it dribs and drabs.
Of pieces of his deposition aimed at sparking discussions
like the one we're having. Yeah, I'm exactly what else
comes out there. And
and we'll see if
Rusty Harden. Who represents DeShaun Watson ever responds in
kind with clips
of pieces of depositions of the individuals who are suing
DeShaun Watson that may make them look
not credible. Will they go that far with it? That will be
interesting to see because I know
So in the past, what Harden has tried to do when he's had
periodic, press conferences, trying to lay out some facts
that would suggest their credibility issues with the 22
plaintiffs. Those efforts have fallen flat.
They never got the traction. I know they were frustrated that
well, why are people writing about these holes in
the arguments that the 22 individuals are making? Well,
one of the realities is, we don't know who these people
are. They're not DeShaun
Watson. They're not the public figure
so they are less likely to be.
Scrutinized and criticized publicly and
you really need to have a silver bullet. If you're going
to take on an allegation that someone is making that they
were in any way, the victim of sexual misconduct. You better
be able to hit the bullseye with it or
you're going to end up looking like someone
who is just trying to
to nitpick and come up with a reason to not believe somebody
who, otherwise has not given us any reason
for us to not believe them. So it's a delicate balance. It's
a dangerous game to be played.
But if there is some clip from one or more of these
individuals that can be played at some point. I suspect
it's going to be leaked to the media. Just like the Watson
excerpt was because it's fair game.
There's no court order preventing this from happening.
What when does the NFL like make a decision here? Like well why
at some point? I would think they got to do something to
inform the Cleveland Browns and DeShaun Watson. Like what is
the matter about the civil cases? Now? Why I mean we okay,
there's an issue here,
whatever. No, it the NFL into the personal conduct policy.
They have every right to give the Sean Watson to suspension
here.
And what do you think they're waiting for here? Why not get
it already out there, you know, get a new friend thing out
there for the the, the fans that are mad at this ago. Like,
all right. Yeah,
he got signed but now we're going to take care of and get
suspended. You know, that might appeal to some of those people
right now, who are putting some backlash out there about Watson
and,
you know, of course a Monumental contract after he
sat out of football for a Year.