Tampa Bay Buccaneers release Antonio Brown after his explosive allegations against Bruce Arians

Brown’s explosive allegations Wednesday night came three days after he ran off the field shirtless—after stripping off his pads and jersey—in the third quarter of his team’s game against the New York Jets. The incident prompted Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians to say after the game that Brown was “no longer a Buc.”

The Buccaneers made that official Thursday afternoon when they issued a statement saying they had terminated his contract. They also disputed his version of events, saying he never indicated to the club’s medical personnel during the game that he couldn’t play, as the episode has turned into a standoff between Brown and the team over the circumstances of their split. The NFL Players Association said it is investigating the incident.

Arians, on Thursday, said that Brown never raised problems with his ankle with the team’s medical staff and that instead he was upset about not getting the ball more.

“At no point in time during that game did he ever ask the trainer or doctor about his ankle,” Arians said.

Brown’s allegations add to the endless drama surrounding a player who has been one of the NFL’s most productive players over the last decade, but has been constantly surrounded by accusations of misconduct against women, drama and controversy. He was suspended last season for violations of the league’s personal conduct policy, and again this season for using a fake vaccine card.

Now, Brown has taken direct aim at the team with which he won a Super Bowl last year after it gave him a chance at redemption after many had already wondered if his baggage outweighed his immense talent. The accusations lay the groundwork for a legal showdown between one of the league’s most prominent players and a team that’s aiming to win its second consecutive title.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Brown said he was pressured directly from “my coach” to play injured and suited up despite the pain after he was injected with “powerful and sometimes dangerous” painkillers. He said he did not quit on his team when he left—rather, he was “cut”—because of his inability to play through the injury and told his coach as much.

Arians’s account of the events directly contradict Brown’s. On Monday, he said Brown had not told him he was injured. On Thursday, he elaborated saying that Brown told him he refused to re-enter the game because he wasn’t getting the ball more.

“He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted,” Arians said. “It started again on the sideline.”

The Buccaneers, in their Thursday statement, said Brown had received treatment on his ankle, which was why he was on the team’s injury report before the club’s medical staff cleared him to play. Tampa Bay added Brown has not complied with the team’s attempts this week for him to be seen by an outside orthapedic specialist.

“At no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play,” the team said.

Brown missed time earlier this season with an ankle injury. That absence happened to coincide with an NFL investigation—prompted by accusations from Brown’s former chef—that found he had used a fake vaccine card, leading to a three-game suspension.

On Dec. 26, he played in his first game in more than two months, owing to both the injury and the suspension, while leading the team in catches and receiving yards in a win. In his next game, last Sunday, he had caught three passes until he left the field.

As he exited and ran toward the tunnel, he tossed gear into the crowd, exhorted the crowd to cheer and flashed the peace sign. After the game, Arians declared that Brown is “no longer a Buc.”

Brown, in his statement, said he sat on the sidelines during the game and that his coach asked what’s wrong with him, to which Brown said his ankle. Then Brown said he was ordered onto the field, and he replied that he could not.

“He didn’t call for medical attention,” Brown said. “Instead, he shouted at me, ‘YOU’RE DONE!’ while he ran his finger across his throat.”

Brown said that as part of the Buccaneers’ “ongoing cover-up” they have acted as if he wasn’t cut and, since, the team requested that he see a doctor of its choosing. But Brown added that on Monday morning he had scans on his ankle that showed broken bone fragments, ligaments torn from the bone and cartilage loss that need repair. He said he was given a “surprise attack” order from the team to see another doctor at the New York hospital where he received his opinion.

Brown also said he acknowledges his past issues and that he has things he needs to “work on.” Still, he added: “My past does not make me a second-class citizen.”

On Thursday morning, Brown also posted screenshots of text message conversations to social media. In a conversation purportedly with Arians, in the days before the game, Brown appears to indicate he can’t get to full speed because of an injury.

Brown began his NFL career as a sixth-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010 and soon emerged as one of the game’s most productive receivers. During his nine-year tenure with the team, he led the league in receiving yards twice while he had the most receiving yards in the league from 2013 to 2018.

His time in Pittsburgh came to an acrimonious end after he was benched for the final game of the team’s season in 2018. He was subsequently traded to the Raiders—and never played a game for them. A bizarre series of incidents and controversies—including a cryotherapy injury to his feet and a fight with team brass—led the Raiders to release him.

The New England Patriots, with then-quarterback Tom Brady, signed him afterward, yet he only lasted one game with the Pats in 2019 before they, too, cut him. That came amid a lawsuit that he raped a woman and another accusation of harassment from a woman. The lawsuit was settled this year.

Brown was subsequently suspended for eight games by the NFL in 2020 for violations of the league’s personal conduct policy—owing to another off-the-field incident—when the Buccaneers, piloted by their new quarterback in Brady, signed him. He proved to be a crucial piece on a team that went on to win the Super Bowl.

Arians, the team’s coach, had indicated after bringing Brown on that the team would have a one-strike policy for him. But that proved not to be the case. After he was caught using his fake vaccination card this season, the team opted to keep him on board. Arians said that he didn’t care what people thought and that he wanted to do what was best for the team.

Just weeks later, though, Arians and Brown found themselves at odds over one of the strangest sights of this NFL season: Brown jogging off the field shirtless midway through a game.

- Wall Street Journal