Nick Kyrgios claims all tournaments other than grand slams are a "waste of time" following his US Open quarter-final exit to Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

The in-form 2022 Wimbledon runner-up's run at Flushing Meadows, which included knocking out defending champion Daniil Medvedev, was ended by Khachanov 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-4.

Kyrgios had been in career-best form, winning more matches than any other player on the ATP Tour since his Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic, but will need to wait until January for another crack at a major, at his home Australian Open.

The 27-year-old has spoken about his renewed level of focus since reaching the Wimbledon final and said he was "devastated" by his US Open loss, smashing a racquet after the match.

"I honestly feel like s***," he said. "I feel like I've let so many people down.

"I feel like these four tournaments are the only ones that are ever going to matter. It's just like you got to start it all again. I have to wait until the Australian Open. It's just devastating. It's heart-breaking.

"I don't even really care about any other tournament. I feel like at the grand slams, now having success at a grand slam, it's just like no other tournament really matters.

"It's like you get better, you get worse, then at a grand slam none of it matters. You either win or lose. People don't really care if you got better on the day or you lost 6-4 in the fifth or played one of the best matches of the tournament. You lost.

"That's all people remember at a grand slam, whether you win or you lose. I think pretty much every other tournament during the year is a waste of time really. You should just run up and show up at a grand slam. That's what you're remembered by."

Kyrgios allayed concerns over a knee injury at the end of the first set that he said settled, stating that he started "flat" and felt Khachanov's serve was too good, particularly in key moments.

"All credit to Karen, he's a fighter. He's a warrior," he said.

"I thought he served really good today. Honestly probably the best server I played this tournament, to be honest, the way he was hitting his spots under pressure."

The triumph marks 29th seed Khachanov's first major semi-final having fallen in the quarter-finals at majors twice previously.

"It's like one more step forward," the Russian said. "I'm really, really happy I could do it.

"I had to face and to beat Nick, who is playing some of the best tennis again. It obviously was a tough match to approach. I made my first semi-final, so it's pretty simple in my head. I'm just really happy."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has declared star quarterback Tom Brady is "all in" following his recent absence ahead of Week 1 of the new NFL season.

Brady returned to practice last month after an 11-day absence from the Bucs' training camp for "personal matters", with the Buccaneers due to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to open their season.

There has been speculation about Brady's absence impacting his focus on football but Bowles brushed that off.

"He's been all in since we got him," Bowles said. "He's all in now.

"I don't follow the off-the-field stuff. I listen to XM The Groove and Soul Town. My off-the-field activities are honestly not even football-related."

The questions emerged after an unusual off-season for Brady, who retired in February before reversing that decision 40 days later in March.

Brady last week declined to go into any depth on the personal matters behind his recent absence but said: "I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s*** going on. Just gotta try to figure out life the best you can. It's a continuous process."

The seven-time Super Bowl champion said last week that he was "ready to go" and on Monday was named on of their offensive captains.

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes had "a car to win" the Dutch Grand Prix and apologised to his team for an outburst after he missed out on a podium finish.

The seven-time world champion looked to be in with a shout of claiming his first win of a difficult season, one which has seen him off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari.

But after a late safety car that saw the team decide to keep him on existing old tyres, the Briton was swiftly deposed from the lead of the race by eventual winner and incumbent world champion Max Verstappen.

Team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc passed Hamilton in the closing stages to lock out the podium with fresh rubber, and the 37-year-old subsequently turned his fire on the team with his radio messages.

Hamilton said: "I can't believe you guys screwed me like that, I can't tell you how p****d I am right now."

Speaking afterwards, however, a more composed Hamilton offered apologies to his pit crew and team, and vowed to take the positives from an improved race performance, if not ultimately the final result, as he took fourth place.

"I think we had a car to win," he said. "Given the circumstance, we were challenged with lots of things, the safety car, the virtual safety car.

"The strategy and car have been so good today, the pit stops were the best. I was really hopeful we'd get a one-two together as a team, but the safety car really didn't help.

"I was on the edge of breaking point with emotions, so my apologies to the team. I just lost it for a second, but I think they know there's just so much passion.

"I want to look at it as a glass half full. Without the safety car, I think we'd have been challenging at the end for the win. If this can be the same in the future races, we can breathe down their necks and get a win.

"Last race, we were miles away and we couldn't even understand how we could be so far away. Yesterday, I was pole up until the last corner.

"There's a huge positive to take from that and our race pace seems to be better or as good as everyone else, so let's not give up."

Tyson Fury has issued a fresh challenge to Oleksandr Usyk, responding to the latest comments from the Ukrainian where he referred to the WBC heavyweight champion as a 'crazy guy'.

Usyk successfully defended his belts against Anthony Joshua in last month's rematch, clearing the way for boxing fans to secure the unification fight they have long been waiting for on the heavyweight stage.

Fury had claimed he would retire following his win against Dillian Whyte in April but has since made it clear he is open to returning to the ring for a unification bout against Usyk.

Former middleweight fighter Usyk spoke about the prospect of facing off against Fury earlier this week, stating: "I want the WBC title. It was captured by the gypsies, some kind of king.

"We don't know what Tyson has in his head. Everyone knows that this is a very crazy guy. I would really like this fight to happen next year."

That sparked a fiery response from Fury, who directed jibes at Usyk's former middleweight status and named three prospective dates for a potential bout.

"Usyk, middleweight, you say you want the WBC and it's held by gypsies, it is held by gypsies and it's held by the gypsy king, it's held tightly," he said in a social media video.

"All rounds lead to a seven-foot behemoth who will absolutely destroy you, middleweight, you will get smashed to bits.

"You said you wanted to fight me after you beat the bodybuilder [Joshua], called me out on television, and now you're being a little b****, saying you've got injuries.

"You ain't got no injuries, you had a sparring contest. Get out and fight in December, you let your mouth go, now let's see if you can back it up.

"Doesn't matter if it's December, April or August next year, the outcome will be the same, I will obliterate you. I am a seven foot, 20 stone behemoth and I will destroy you. Find your balls, come see me."

Remco Evenepoel said his bike bore the brunt of the crash that gave the Vuelta a Espana leader a scare, as Richard Carapaz scored an eye-catching stage 12 victory.

The 192.7-kilometre ride from Salobrena to Estepona took the riders through the province of Malaga, and with just over 45km remaining there was a jolt for general classification front-runner Evenepoel when the Belgian took a chance on a corner.

Looking to take an inside line, Evenepoel's calculation failed to pay off as his wheels slipped, leaving him grounded and shaken momentarily, with his right leg having scraped on the road.

He was soon back in the race and finished strongly, preserving his lead of two minutes and 41 seconds over three-time reigning champion Primoz Roglic in the GC standings.

Asked about any after-effects, Evenepoel said on Eurosport: "Just my leg, but it's fine I think. My bike is much worse than myself.

"It was a super slippery corner. The motorbikes were slipping as well, and slowing down, so that's why I actually wanted to cut the corner, but it was a bit too much.

"Sorry for my words, but s*** happens. Now I'm just going to heal the wounds and try to recover for tomorrow as it will be a sprint stage."

It was largely flat on Thursday, until the steep ascent of Penas Blancas in the closing kilometres proved an arduous test of the riders' legs.

Carapaz, part of a breakaway that splintered as the race and the climb progressed, made his move with 2km remaining and surged clear to finish nine seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman, with Marc Soler in third. Jay Vine, expected to make a push for the win, could only finish seventh.

Carapaz makes his presence felt

Three years on from winning the Giro d'Italia, this was Carapaz's first stage win of his Vuelta career. He has been the man in the red jersey before, eventually ceding it to finish runner-up to Roglic in 2020, but has not shown that level of consistent performance this year.

His dart to victory up the mountain was mightily impressive, though, serving as a reminder of the 29-year-old's great talent.

STAGE RESULT

1. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) 4:38:26
2. Wilco Kelderman (BORA-Hansgrohe), +0:09
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), +0:24
4. Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), +0:26
5. Marco Brenner (Team DSM), +0:34

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 44:25:09
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +2:41
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +3:03

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 184
2. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 96
3. Samuele Battistella (Astana) 87

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 40
2. Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 21
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 20

Nick Kyrgios has complained of the smell of marijuana during his second-round US Open victory over Benjamin Bonzi on Wednesday.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist made the claim to the chair umpire late in the second set of his hard-fought 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over the Frenchman at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The chair umpire remarked that the smell could be coming from the kitchen which Kyrgios retorted with "it was f***ing marijuana".

"People don't know I'm a heavy asthmatic," Kyrgios told reporters after the match.

"When I'm running side to side, I'm struggling to breathe, probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.

"Yeah, US Open, it's a very different vibe to everywhere else. I feel like Wimbledon was so proper. Australian Open, you kind of expect it there, being an Aussie.

"But here, it's just like noisy. Point in, point out, I can't barely hear. Half the time I can't even hear my team because it's so noisy all the time."

The latter half of Kyrgios' second-round match coincided with major drawcard Serena Williams playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium against second seed Anett Kontaveit.

"Ashe was unbelievably noisy," Kyrgios added. "I couldn't hear anything. Constant jitter. Things going off, sirens.

"In Armstrong today, hearing trains and people. For someone that's struggled to focus in my career, I'm really trying hard to put my head down and play point by point, try to dig myself out of some certain situations.

"It's hard because there's a lot of distractions. Obviously a lot of heckling going on as well. People are saying things. I got to be very careful with what I say these days."

Kyrgios' win means he will take on American J.J. Wolf in the third round on Friday and the 23rd-seed Australian, who won August's Citi Open in Washington DC, said he was feeling motivated and more professional than ever.

"This year's been amazing in so many different ways," he said. "For my tennis, I kind of wanted to almost reinvent myself, get back to the top of the game where I know I belong.

"The Wimbledon final was a turning point I think for me mentally. If I won that match, I don't know where my motivation would have been at. Losing it and being so close, it was really tough for me to kind of swallow that.

"Winning Washington, winning so many matches, I just feel like I thought the pressure would be off me after winning Wimbledon. He's a Wimbledon finalist, he's nearly-over-the-hump-type thing.

"I didn't think I'd be putting this amount of pressure on myself. Every day I come in, I watch what I eat, I try and get sleep. Like every practice session I try and have good intent. I almost don't know who I am anymore, to be honest, because that's not me.

"I feel like I'm really professional right now. I never thought that the Wimbledon final would make me that way. I thought it would be the other way, the reverse, almost a bit lax and a bit chilled with it."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says they are in a "dungeon" following a dismal Belgian Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton crash out on the first lap.

The Silver Arrows, last year's constructors' champions, have suffered a disappointing 2022 campaign compared to rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.

Seven-time world drivers' champion Hamilton, pipped in controversial circumstances by Max Verstappen last season, has been off the pace in 2022, while the Dutchman's win at Spa edged him closer to another title.

Wolff admitted it has been a frustrating season for the Briton and team-mate George Russell, acknowledging it has been hard to be on the outside looking in at glory this year.

"They say you never lose [but] you learn," he was quoted by the Guardian. "I can tell you it is ******* difficult.

"All these nice Instagram posts and everything we have talked about over the eight years, about how we are going to take this when you arrive in the dungeon.

"To stick to your principles and your values, to keep the spirit up and continue to relentlessly seek to get better? Phew. There is more to write a book about this year than there is about the last eight years."

Hamilton saw his race come to a premature end after a collision with Fernando Alonso, but the major issues plaguing Mercedes have been race-to-race inconsistency rather than one-off errors.

"It's very difficult to cope with these swings," Wolff added. "We had a totally sub-par performance in qualifying, [and] then in the race, sometimes we go three seconds a lap faster.

"There are big question marks about what is going on. It's not where we should be with the structure and knowledge to understand a racing car but we don't with this one.

"Whatever we decide for next year, it needs to be carefully evaluated because clearly our data does not give us the results, doesn't correlate it with the reality. We have massive swings in performance we can't really get on top of.

"In this moment to take a decision for next year, changing a concept dramatically, how can you be sure that is the better direction to go because clearly you would be starting a way back?"

Tom Brady is "ready to go" for the new NFL season following an 11-day absence from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp.

Brady had time away unusually close to the regular season to deal with what have been labelled as "personal matters".

He ended his absence, for which he received prior approval from the team, this week and played one series for the Bucs against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

Brady completed six of eight passes for 44 yards, including a 20-yard connection to new Bucs receiver Julio Jones.

Asked to explain his absence in a post-game media conference, Brady - who announced his retirement this offseason only to return after 40 days - said: "It's all personal.

"Everyone's got different situations they're dealing with. We all have really unique challenges to our life.

"I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s*** going on. Just gotta try to figure out life the best you can. It's a continuous process."

Pressed on whether the issues he referred to had been resolved, Brady replied: "I'm ready to go."

UFC president Dana White recently said Brady was poised to sign for the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2020 before he made the move to Tampa Bay. White claimed then Raiders coach Jon Gruden put a stop to the deal.

Brady was the also the subject of what the NFL deemed "impermissible contact" from the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and 2021. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5million for reaching out to Brady and his agent Don Yee.

But the veteran moved to reject any talk of him wanting to play anywhere else other than Tampa upon leaving the New England Patriots.

He added: "I think since I came to this organisation, it's been amazing. It's just been an amazing experience for me to come to this place and be as supported as I have for a long period of time.

"I read all these stories about all these different places I was supposed to go or could have gone. And I was like, 'I only was gonna go to one place, which was here.' I think this whole organisation knows that.

"All the conversations we've had over a period of time, I chose the right place for me. And I'm very proud of the effort that everyone's put in to make the relationship work. [Owner/co-chairman] Joel [Glazer] has been amazing.

"[General manager] Jason [Licht's] a great friend of mine. Bruce [Arians],Todd [Bowles], all the coaches. It's been an amazing relationship and I'm very grateful to everybody for allowing me to come down here and experience this part of my football life which, [if] I looked back, it would probably be incomplete had I not had it. I'm happy I've had it."

Jose Mourinho has blasted the "scum" who claimed Felix Afena-Gyan was responsible for Georginio Wijnaldum's broken leg.

Wijnaldum fractured the tibia in his right leg during a training session on Sunday, just a fortnight after joining the Serie A club in a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.

It has been claimed in certain quarters that teenage Ghana forward Afena-Gyan was to blame for an injury that could rule the Netherlands midfielder out of the World Cup in Qatar.

Roma head coach Mourinho hit back at those accusations in an Instagram post ahead of the Serie A encounter with Cremonese on Monday.

"Sometimes football can be s***. In only two weeks, Gini became one of us because of his human qualities (his football qualities we already knew)," he wrote.

"Sadly, in a very unfortunate accident he had a bad injury that will keep him away from playing for a long time.

"But it's not just football to be s*** sometimes, people can also be… Those who initiated the rumours that a top kid like Felix could be responsible for what happened are real scum.

"Let's all be together tonight: we play for @officialasroma, for gwijnaldum and for @ohenegyanfelix9."

Anthony Joshua insisted he is a "fighter for a life" with a "hunger that never dies" amid speculation over his future after another defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk outclassed the Briton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, claiming the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

The Ukrainian was challenged more in the rematch in Jeddah on Saturday, but produced a near-perfect display in the later rounds to defend his world heavyweight champion status with a split-decision victory.

One judge scored the fight 115-113 in Joshua's favour, while another had the same result for Usyk, with the third decisively awarding Usyk a 116-112 success.

An enraged Joshua picked up the belts after the fight before throwing them down, prior to returning to the ring to launch a bizarre yet impassioned rant on his background and Usyk's skills.

Joshua has now lost three of his past five fights, all of them for world titles, and could not hide his emotions at the post-fight press conference.

"It's really, really hard for me to say I'm proud of myself," he said. "I'm upset, really, deep down in my heart."

On his actions after the conclusion of the fight, Joshua added: "When you try and do things from your heart, not everyone is going to understand," Joshua explained.

"It was just from the heart. I knew I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just myself. I was like 'I got to get out of here because I'm mad'.

"When you're angry you might do stupid things. Then I realised this is sport. I came back and did the right thing.

"I'm a fighter for life. That hunger never dies. Fighter for life."

Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Joshua, labelled his fighter an idol within world sport as he echoed the sentiments that the 32-year-old will not retire.

"This is someone who I want my kids to look up to," Hearn added. "If he's out in public, he gives everyone his time. He's one of the nicest guys. He's a competitor and winner.

"What you saw was raw emotion. A real person who wanted to win badly."

Leon Edwards called out the doubters after shocking the MMA world with a final-round head kick to knock out Kamaru Usman to claim the welterweight title at UFC 278 on Saturday.

Usman seemed destined for victory and a sixth title defence after dominating from the early stages but Edwards' left-foot kick knocked out the 35-year-old Nigerian with less than a minute remaining in the fifth round.

Edwards' kick caught Usman flush, appearing to knock him out on contact and stun the 17,000-strong crowd in Salt Lake City.

Jamaica-born Edwards leapt out of the octagon in celebration as Usman, whom many considered the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, lay on the ground beaten.

"You all doubted me, said I couldn’t do it," Edwards said. "They all said I couldn’t do it.

"Look at me now. Look at me now. Pound-for-pound one."

The head-kick KO ended Edwards' 15-fight UFC winning streak, falling short of Anderson Silva's UFC record.

The two had faced off previously in December 2015, with Usman triumphant by unanimous decision.

Paulo Costa got the better of Luke Rockhold in an epic, winning by unanimous decision, 30-27 30-27 30-27, to put himself back in title middleweight contention.

Rockhold seemed fatigued after the first round with the Brazilian scoring the first takedown and delivered a barrage of body shots on the ground.

The American had a moment in the second round, landing a roundhouse kick on Costa, but the Brazilian hit back with a big body kick late in the round after a timeout following a low blow.

Despite Costa's dominance, Rockhold gallantly fought on and landed a few shots but the Brazilian would not relent, capitalizing on a sloppy takedown attempt to close it out.

UFC legend Jose Aldo was outclassed by Merab Dvalishvili who claimed a unanimous decision victory, 29-28, 29-28 30-27.

Fast-rising bantamweight contender Dvalishvili was unable to get Aldo on the ground where he wanted him but outworked him for the win.

Oleksandr Usyk has called out Tyson Fury immediately after retaining his heavyweight titles with a split decision victory over Anthony Joshua in Jeddah on Saturday.

The Ukrainian's victory over Joshua meant he retained the WBA, WBO and IBF belts, while he also claimed the Ring Magazine belt.

Usyk is now eyeing off the WBC belt, vacated by Fury who had declared he was retired after beating Killian Whyte in April. Fury had recently indicated he would end his retirement to potentially fight Derek Chisora before flip-flopping on that decision earlier this month.

However, speculation has mounted that Fury would come out of retirement to face the winner of Saturday's bout.

That will only be fueled by the video posted by the 'Gypsy King' on Twitter reacting to Usyk's victory, claiming he would "annihilate" both fighters, while the 35-year-old Ukrainian was already eyeing off a bout with him.

"I'm sure Tyson Fury isn't retired yet," Usyk said on the ring immediately after the bout.

"I'm sure he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I'm not fighting Tyson Fury, I'm not fighting at all."

Fury said on Twitter: "It was one of the worst heavyweight title fights I have ever seen. I would annihilate both of them on the same night.

"Get your f*****g chequebook out because the Gypsy King is here to stay forever."

Fury's co-promoter Frank Warren had indicated earlier this month that the 34-year-old was getting "itchy feet" in retirement.

"He's got itchy feet at the moment, he wants to fight," he told TalkSPORT.

"I think what's going to happen is, see what happens on [August] 20th and the outcome of that and that'll determine what he intends to do in the future.

"My opinion, this is not from him, it's from me. I think he will [return] because he's a fighting man and he misses it. That's what he does, he wants to fight."

Anthony Joshua launched a bizarre yet impassioned rant after losing the heavyweight title re-match to Oleksandr Usyk on split decision in Jeddah on Saturday.

The Ukrainian retained his heavyweight belts with the victory but it was Joshua who stole the show after the bout.

The 32-year-old Briton grabbed the microphone in the ring and spoke for four minutes in an expletive-filled rant despite it being Usyk's moment of glory.

Joshua's tirade included moments of respect along with disrespect aimed at his opponent and seemed to lack coherence or direction.

"I don't care about strong, I care about skills," Joshua said. "Being strong doesn’t win boxing … skills win boxing.

"You’re not strong, how did you beat me? I got skilled. I’ve had character and determination."

Joshua, who appeared to throw two belts out of the ring amid the chaos, quickly changed his tune and added: "Usyk, one hell of a f***ing fighter, let’s give him a round of applause.

"That’s just emotion. If you knew my story, you would understand my passion. I ain’t no f***ing amateur boxer from five years old that was an elite prospect from a youth.

"I was going to jail. I got bail and started training my ass off, because if I got sentenced, I wouldn’t be able to fight."

He continued: "The f***ing passion we put into this s***, man. This guy, to beat me tonight, maybe I could have done better, but it shows the levels of hard work he must have put in, so please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world. Woo! Motherf*****!

"I'm not a 12-round fighter. Look at me! I'm a new breed of heavyweights. All them heavyweights — Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey.

"'Oh, you don’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano'. Cause I ain't f***in' 14 stone, that’s why! I'm 18 stone and I'm heavy! It's hard work! This guy here is a phenomenal talent."

Promoter Eddie Hearn weighed in on Joshua's confusing rant, arguing he was frustrated after Usyk was "too good" for him.

"You saw the reaction from AJ, and that was from a human who wanted to win so badly with so much pressure on his shoulders," Hearn told Sky Sports Box Office.

"I think he just exploded because he lost and he was devastated, and he's given everything to try and win this fight. He couldn't win the fight, he's a competitor, he's a winner but this man's too good.

"It was an incredible performance. He’s just too good, and there’s no shame in it. The 10th round, the 11th round, that’s why he’s the pound-for-pound number one."

Deshaun Watson apologised for "any pain this situation has caused" before the Cleveland Browns quarterback insisted that was not an admission of guilt on any level over the accusations of sexual misconduct made against him.

Watson has received an 11-game suspension and a $5million fine after the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) reached an agreement over his punishment.

The 26-year-old faced 24 civil lawsuits over sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was not charged by two grand juries and settled 20 of 24 lawsuits in June, with a further three settlements reported ahead of a hearing verdict early this month.

Watson was given an initial six-game suspension and no further fine after a disciplinary hearing conducted by former US district judge Sue L. Robinson. However, the NFL formally appealed against that ruling in order to seek further punishment, agreeing to the new sanctions with the NFLPA.

Watson's first game back is scheduled to be on December 4, against his former team the Houston Texans.

Having denied any wrongdoing after the accusations were made, Watson last week apologised to "all of the women that I have impacted".

A similar message came on Thursday in a statement from the Browns, in which Watson said he wished to "apologise once again for any pain this situation has caused".

"I take accountability for the decisions I made," Watson's statement added. "My focus going forward is on working to become the best version of myself on and off the field and supporting my team-mates however possible while I’m away from the team."

Just minutes later, Watson faced the press and said he would continue to "stand by my innocence".

Watson said it was important to swallow the punishment, stating: "My whole life has to be able to move forward."

He spoke of needing "to grow as a person", but refused to offer a view on the level of punishment dished out.

"I can't speak on the fairness," Watson said. "The NFL did what they had to do, and the NFLPA communicated with the legal side. I'm going to keep my opinion to myself."

Watson was not mincing his words when he added: "I'm moving on with my career and my life, and I'm continuing to stand on my innocence. Just because a settlement's been paid, it doesn't mean a person is guilty for anything."

When asked about whether he would tell all at some point, Watson said: "That's definitely the plan, that's definitely the goal. I've felt like through this whole process I've been trying to tell my side of the story, but a lot of people didn't really pay much attention to it."

He said he needed "to do what's best for Deshaun Watson" and said he could not control public opinion.

On top of the ban and fine, Watson will be required to commit to an evaluation with behavioural experts while also following a mandatory treatment programme. He says he wants to prove himself to the Cleveland community.

"Counselling is definitely a big part of that," Watson said. "I'll continue to show my face and show people who I really am."

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam issued a joint statement in which they spoke of "a real opportunity to create meaningful change", saying they were "committed to investing in programmes in Northeast Ohio that will educate our youth regarding awareness, understanding, and most importantly, prevention of sexual misconduct and the many underlying causes of such behaviour".

Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has pleaded not guilty to an additional rape charge.

Mendy appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday to enter the plea ahead of his trial.

The 28-year-old attended court back in May when he entered pleas for nine charges of sexual offences – he then denied seven counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape.

Mendy also denies this further count of rape.

The offences, reported by seven different women, allegedly occurred between October 2018 and August last year, with all purported to have taken place at Mendy's home.

Mendy will go on trial with co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, who denies eight counts of rape and four of sexual assault between July 2012 and August 2021.

Both men are expected to stand trial later this week, with proceedings unlikely to conclude before November.

Mendy was suspended by City on August 26, 2021, and has not played for them since.