Lawyer: Deshaun Watson Has Indeed Talked To FBI, But Not Yet NFL

The legal camp for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson says that Watson has spoken to the FBI about an investigation into one woman accusing him of sexual assault has committed extortion, but the quarterback has not yet talked to the NFL’s investigators about the accusations against him.

This comes after Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing nearly two dozen women accusing Watson of various forms of sexual harassment and sexual assault, said in an interview published Tuesday that the FBI is now investigating Watson’s case.

During a Wednesday press conference, Watson's lawyer Rusty Hardin said he encouraged Watson to cooperate with the FBI because he’s confident that Watson was the victim of extortion, not the perpetrator of a crime.

“In April the FBI came to us and told us they were investigating a matter in regards to whether one of Mr. Buzbee’s clients committed extortion,” Hardin said. “If you can find a lawyer who would let his client talk to the FBI if his client did anything wrong or had any exposure, I would be very, very surprised.”

Hardin said Watson has not yet spoken to NFL investigators because they haven’t asked to talk to him but said the quarterback will cooperate with the NFL whenever they do.

When asked if Watson has talked to the NFL, Hardin replied: "The answer is no, and here’s the reason: The NFL regularly tries to not reach out to the defendant and his lawyers until the criminal investigation is over. They want to make sure they don’t interfere with the criminal investigation. Whenever the time is appropriate we will fully cooperate.”

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