Deshaun Watson sued over images posted to personal Instagram page

Deshaun Watson allegedly used images without a photographer’s permission

Aaron Speecher filed suit against Watson over a pair of photographs, both taken between 2017-18, which show the Houston Texans quarterback off the field preparing for a game. Per Speecher, who works for the Associated Press as a freelancer, Watson neither gave him the appropriate credit or reached out to him or the AP for permission to post on his personal Instagram page.

“He and his licensing agency, AP, are always happy to license images to NFL players for personal uses such as this. But as a freelancer, he can’t allow players to just take photos without payment or even giving him proper credit, since this is how he earns his living. And no one can seriously dispute this. In fact, it is our understanding that the NFL has made this clear to players,” Kevin McCulloch, Speecher’s attorney, said via ABC 13 in Houston.

Could Watson face financial retribution for said lawsuit?

Speecher has allegedly been denied access to future Texans games, and his social media accounts have become a frequent target of Watson fans, who have called him out publicly.

“Since it has happened many times, he finally felt he had no choice but to retain our firm to help him resolve this matter. We think it is unfortunate that it came to this point, but we hope that the issue can get resolved quickly and amicably, as Mr. Sprecher certainly has no intention of making this simple matter any more contentious than necessary,” said McCulloch.

The issue wasn’t able to be solved via social media, as Speecher claims he tried to approach Watson rather than take him to court. Sadly for the Texans QB, this is another off-field distraction he’ll have to deal with.