Author: staff
HOUSTON — Thirty women who had accused the Houston Texans of turning a blind eye to allegations that their former star quarterback Deshaun Watson was sexually assaulting and harassing women during massage sessions have settled their legal claims against the team, their attorney said Friday.The terms of the settlements between each of the women and the Texans are confidential, said attorney Tony Buzbee.AdvertisementWhile only one of the women had filed a lawsuit against the team, the others intended to make legal claims against the Texans before the settlements were reached, Buzbee said.In separate lawsuits, 24 women accused Watson of exposing himself, touching them with his penis or kissing them against their will during massage appointments while he played for the Texans. One woman alleged Watson forced her to perform oral sex. Last month, Buzbee announced 20 of those 24 lawsuits have been settled.AdvertisementIn a statement, Texans owners Janice McNair and Hannah and Cal McNair said while the team did not have any knowledge of Watson’s alleged misconduct, they were “shocked and deeply saddened” when they first learned about the accusations and chose to resolve the claims against the team “amicably.”“This is not an admission of any wrongdoing, but instead a clear stand against any form of sexual assault and misconduct. We hope that today’s resolution will provide some form of closure to the parties involved, our fans and the Houston community at large. As an organization, we will now turn our focus to the future and doing what we can to ensure respect for all,” the McNairs said in their statement.In the lawsuit filed last month against the Texans, a woman accused the team and some of its employees of having been told or being aware of Watson’s troubling behavior and “known tendency to push boundaries during massage sessions.” The lawsuit alleged the Texans provided Watson with various resources, including rooms at a Houston hotel, massage tables and a non-disclosure agreement the women were told to sign, that allowed the quarterback “to further his misconduct with women.”Buzbee said while he would have no additional comment on the allegations against the Texans, in a statement he added “there is a marked contrast in the way in which the Texans addressed these allegations, and the way in which Watson’s team has done so.”Watson, who agreed to be traded to the Cleveland Browns in March after four seasons with Houston, has claimed his innocence and that any sex with the therapists was consensual. The 26-year-old is facing possible discipline from the NFL over the allegations.Watson, who signed a five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns, is waiting to see if he’ll be eligible to play this season. NFL disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson will decide whether the three-time Pro Bowler violated the league’s personal conduct policy with his off-field behavior.A former federal judge in Delaware, Robinson held a hearing this month during which the league and the NFL Players Association presented arguments. The league has insisted on an indefinite suspension for Watson while the union says there are no grounds for a lengthy ban since he did not commit any crimes.Two separate grand juries in Texas declined to indict Watson on any criminal complaints.AdvertisementThis is the first case for Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and union to handle discipline. She has been reviewing post-hearing briefs from both sides.The Browns, who traded three first-round picks to Houston and six total for Watson, are eager to know how long they could be without their starting quarterback. The team opens training camp July 25.Buzbee said he hopes to take to trial the four remaining lawsuits against Watson sometime in the spring next year.AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston and AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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When former Boston Bruins assistant coach Kevin Dean took a job as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks, he had no illusions about what he was getting himself into.“They said it’s going to be a lot of patience. Exercise some patience,” Dean said Thursday during his introduction at Fifth Third Arena. “It’s going to be clunky at times, but we’re going to want to be on a trajectory up.”AdvertisementDean will be in charge of the defense under first-time head coach Luke Richardson. The Hawks are going through a rebuild to boot, so there has been an influx of new faces since Kyle Davidson became the permanent general manager.”We’re going to compete, we’re going to close hard, we’re going to transition fast, we’re going to get our pucks to the net. Those are basics we want to harp on and fundamentals we expect all our defensemen to work on.”–Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dean pic.twitter.com/FKrOqHw1z2— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) July 14, 2022
“We didn’t spend a ton of time on (discussing) a ‘rebuild,’” Dean said, “but it’s going to be some younger players, (so) let’s be patient and teach them how to play hockey the right way.Advertisement“All of a sudden, a couple of years in the league, they start to find their game, they become impact players, they’ve got good habits and some depth and you become a good hockey team.“And it doesn’t take forever to do that.”Here are five things we learned from development camp.It’s not a dig. Dean and Richardson had no previous connection to each other than occasionally running across each other as you typically do through the course of an NHL season.Said Dean: “I was let go, or not renewed, in Boston, so I was making calls and I texted Luke early in the process and Luke was very forthright and got back to me right away and said be patient and see where it goes.“When Chicago got a little more comfortable and started to talk to people, it went well from there.”Dean knows what he brings to Chicago’s situation.“Coming into a team that’s going to be a little bit younger, I think my strength is on the defensive side of the puck and I just want to come here and bring a good attitude and good energy and teach these young defensemen.”AdvertisementBeing a Blackhawks defenseman is something Dean is familiar with. The left-shot defenseman was traded twice during the 1999-2000 season and then-Dallas Star landed in Chicago in February 2000.New Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Dean kneels during practice at Johnny’s IceHouse on Feb. 14, 2000. (JOSE MORE / CHICAGO TRIBUNE)“I think it’s a great place to play, great city,” Dean said of Chicago. “We weren’t great when I played here but it was great playing. The United Center is one of the best venues to play in the world. The nights that we had good crowds and the game was tight was awesome.”Dean’s Hawks finished third in the Central Division his first season and the next season they finished fourth.“It’s such a great sports town in general. It’s a great town. I grew up not far from here,” the Madison, Wis., native said. “I have a special place in my heart for Chicago and the Blackhawks.“I left and they got better right away,” he laughed. “They got better a couple years later. They had some good drafts not long after and they started turning the ship around pretty quickly.“It was fun to watch those teams. The 2010s, they were something else.”AdvertisementIt seems as if Dean’s philosophy boils down to this: If you go anywhere on the ice, go hard.“We’re going to compete, we’re going to close hard, we’re going to transition fast, we’re going to get our pucks to the net,” Dean said. “Those are basics we want to harp on and fundamentals we expect all our defensemen to work on.”Jeremy Colliton and Marc Crawford employed what has been termed a “half-man” coverage, but Dean said he and Richardson are “aligned” that they prefer playing zone.“More in the D-zone, not man-on-man. That’s going to be up to Luke to firm that up,” Dean said. “Close hard when it’s your turn to close, separate when it’s your turn to separate, get some support from the low forward and get going the other way.“But not man-on-man where you’re following around the guy the whole time.”Speed, that is. And if they don’t possess flat-out speed, they at least have to have a motor.AdvertisementThat was the idea behind signing Andreas Athanasiou, Max Domi and some of the other free agents the Hawks have signed since Wednesday..“With Andreas, one of the faster players in our league,” Davidson said of the 6-foot-2 forward. “Bring up the speed factor on our team. Max can play up in that top-six area where he can bring a good pace of play but also a really high compete level, which we want to bring up in our group.“Colin Blackwell is heart and soul, motor never stops. Really happy to get him and drive that work rate up a bit higher.”Strome and Dominik Kubalík were restricted free agents with arbitration rights, and neither were tendered qualifying offers.Kubalík signed a two-year deal ($2.5 million cap hit) with the Detroit Red Wings and Strome inked a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals for $3.5 million.“It was more the uncertainty around cost,” Davidson said. “Both had arb rights, and so the arbitration process just brings a little bit more uncertainty and it drags out a little further into the summer.”AdvertisementDavidson wants to stay flexible with his budget.“Again, it’s not easy walking away from good players and good people as Dylan and Dominik are,” he said, “but we just felt this was something that gave us more certainty in our budgeting.” The Hawks also didn’t re-sign goalie Kevin Lankinen, an unrestricted free agent. Lankinen signed a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators.“There were a lot of options for goalies out there this year,” Davidson said. “It just didn’t work out. I think he was maybe looking for a change, or we just couldn’t work something out.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.The Hawks signed Alex Stalock, who will back up Petr Mrázek.Advertisement