Warning: This story contains details about alleged sexual abuse.
Ashley Solis and Kyla Hayes, two of the women accusing Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct, spoke out against the quarterback and his gaudy contract on Tuesday night.
The accusers spoke with Soledad O'Brien on the latest episode of HBO's "Real Sports" on May 24, during which they detailed the alleged assaults, as well as condemned the Browns for "rewarding bad behavior."
"It's just like a big screw you," Solis said about Watson's new deal. "That's what it feels like. That, 'We don't care. He can run and throw, and that's what we care about.'"
The accusers detailed the alleged abuse during the segment, in which Watson was claimed to have “deliberately” grabbed his genitals and attempted to rub his genitals against the accusers' hands.
The experience "was mortifying and embarrassing and disgusting,” Hayes said of her encounter.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the Deshaun Watson legal situation
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday that he did not watch the appearance by the women on "Real Sports," and instead re-affirmed that the organization has "done a lot of work on Deshaun the person."
"There's legal proceedings ongoing, there's an investigation ongoing so I won't comment much further than that, but we understand with respect to that it's something that we're going to be dealing with as the proceedings go on," Stefanski said, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot.
#Browns Kevin Stefanski didn’t watch the HBO piece on Deshaun Watson but read about it, notes they’ve done a lot of their own work on him and they’ll keep working through it pic.twitter.com/IkjNwNB6wS
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) May 25, 2022
Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230 million contract with the Browns this offseason, traded to Cleveland after spending the first five seasons of his career with Houston.
A grand jury declined to indict Watson on criminal charges, but he still faces 22 civil lawsuits. Depositions began last week. The quarterback maintains that he committed no wrongdoing.
At his introductory press conference with the Browns in March, Watson said he's "never assaulted, or harassed or disrespected any woman."
In 2021, Solis became one of the first accusers to come public against Watson, detailing her interactions with him in a press conference alongside Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee.
The NFL has yet to levy discipline on Watson, as the league's investigation is ongoing.
"We've been very clear with every club that whether the criminal matter gets resolved or not, the personal conduct policy is something that's very important to us," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said when asked broadly about Watson's investigation and potential punishment. "It does not need a criminal violation to be a violation of the personal conduct policy... We're going to make sure we get to the bottom of the facts and how it applies to the personal conduct policy. And when we get to that a decision will be made of if there should be any discipline and if so what is it."
