RAINN president: 'Deshaun Watson had a chance to show he could change, and he immediately blew it'

Shortly after the NFL confirmed on Thursday that the league and NFL Players Association had agreed to an 11-game suspension and fine of $5 million for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson regarding allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, the National Organization of Women (NOW) hit out at the settlement and said the punishment was "nowhere near enough." 

Somebody representing a separate organization has ripped into Watson, but for a different reason. 

"I've always stood on my innocence and always said I've never assaulted anyone or disrespected anyone, and I'm continuing to stand on that," Watson said while maintaining his innocence on Thursday, per the NFL's website. David Mulugheta, his agent, added via Twitter that the 26-year-old "has always stated he is innocent of sexual assault" after the signal-caller publicly said last Friday he was "truly sorry to all of the women that I have impacted in this situation." 

Per a TMZ Sports update, Scott Berkowitz, the founder and president of The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), heaving criticized Watson's words and non-apology that he offered on Thursday. 

"Deshaun Watson had a chance to show he could change, and he immediately blew it," Berkowitz said. "His comments to the media make clear that he doesn’t really accept any responsibility for his actions, and that he still doesn’t understand how much harm he caused, or the impact on the dozens of survivors he hurt."

RAINN is considered the "largest anti-sexual violence organization" in the country. 

Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle also spoke with Berkowitz: